There are over 9,200 at-risk youth in Ontario who will need financial literacy training in order to have a smooth transition into adulthood. And we have the solution that will help them get there!
Manage Your Money (MY$) began as a program that taught college students financial literacy. This program was such a success that it has been adopted by St. Lawrence College as part of a mandatory first year course. This year, over 170 college students have taken this course.
Recently, we were approached by an organization that supports at-risk youth to help them meet a federal mandate requiring the organization to teach financial literacy skills to the youth. As a result of the hardship and trauma that some of the youth have experienced, they are at increased risk of living under the poverty line.
We collaborated with the organization to determine what the at-risk youth would need to become successfully independent adults. We created a curriculum which covers topics like learning styles, coping mechanisms, the cost of living and goal setting.
All of our lessons build on each other to teach these young adults that they can take control of their financial lives and avoid the hardships of poverty.
To date we have run four iterations of the project. Each time we have adapted and improved upon our program. This year we have helped 37 at-risk youth learn financial literacy skills.
In the next iteration of the project, we will be implementing new technology called an “iclicker”. It is a cordless remote that allows students to respond to an instructor’s questions with the push of a button. It is fun and interactive but it is also instantly measurable. It allows us to handle the sometimes sensitive nature of the subject matter without students having to divulge their identities. This new technology will be implemented starting May 24th.
