In the Community - Financial Outreach Financial Backpack The Financial Backpack outreach program teaches personal financial management skills to high school students and young adults. The committee designs and runs financial literacy workshops aimed at providing students with practical financial knowledge. Financial Backpack workshops cover such topics as: Paying for College Careers in Finance Budgeting Savings & Investing Use & Abuse of Credit & Debit Cards Stocks, Bonds & Mutual Funds Basics of Banking (Choosing a Bank, Writing Checks, etc.) Over the past several years, Financial Backpack has conducted programs at a number of schools and organizations, including Murry Bergtraum High School in New York City, the York Project in Jersey City, N.J., Baruch College, Aquinas High School in the Bronx and the Girl’s Club of the Lower East Side. The structure of the FWA’s Financial Backpack seminars involves: Both 40 minute & 2-3 hours workshops Core presentations to entire group Q&A session Case studies in small groups with FWA facilitator(s) Group presentations/discussion of differing results/summary of entire workshop Written evaluations Participants report that the FWA-developed case study exercises represent the best part of our seminars, helping students practice what they have learned. High school students also have the opportunity to learn from the FWA facilitators, who act as role models and who share their knowledge and professional experience. The workshops draw on the skills of the Financial Backpack committee members, as well as the expertise of the other FWA members in the financial arena. Financial Literacy The FWA in partnership with The Bank of America and the United Way of New York City presents an eight-week financial literacy seminar for people with minimal financial education who find their life choices severely limited. The goal is to foster economic self-sufficiency by providing participants with the necessary tools for basic money management. The program commenced in the Spring of 2005. It has been expanded this year to include two sessions, one in the Spring and another in the Fall. Both are being held at The University Settlement Society of New York which is located on the lower east side. Each session graduates twenty participants and includes the following topics: Each week we discuss a different topic. They include: Cash Flow and Budgeting Using Credit Cards and Fringe Financial Products Getting Out of Debt Organizing Financial Documents Understanding Financial Organizations Discussing Tax Issues Investing to Fund Goals Some features of the program that make it ground-breaking are: FWA members conduct each session. Our membership of financial planners and specialists in insurance, taxes, investments and education make us uniquely qualified to share knowledge about financial skills. Each session is taught, in part, by a peer trainer. This spokesperson provides valuable information and shares her experiences which empowers the group to attain success. A peer administrator handles the multitude of details that ensures each session runs smoothly. The homework is available in English, Spanish and Chinese to reinforce the lessons of the week and make it easy to understand. Students with particular legal, financial and tax problems are referred to an FWA expert for assistance in resolving the issue. This years program builds upon the success of last year. We hope to continue expanding the program each year, giving more FWA members the opportunity to teach and many deserving participants, in multiple cities, the opportunity to learn. Need more information? For more information about Financial Backpack, visit the Financial Backpack Committee page. For more information about Financial Literary, visit the Financial Literacy Committee page. Top
Last updated:   July 7, 2006