Julie and Sandy Help Spread Financial Literacy

Teaching kids about responsible budgeting sounds about as easy as herding cats, but the Center for Financial Planning’s own Sandy Adams and Julie Hall gave it their best shot … with some amazing results.

Partnering with the non-profit organization Junior Achievement, a group aiming to spread financial literacy skills to students from grades K-12 across the country, Sandy and Julie brought in a group of 8th graders from Detroit’s Burton International School. The day was dedicated to teaching the kids about personal finances in a very hands-on way.

 

Students were encouraged to save money each month rather than spending it all. Many took saving very seriously, making frugal choices.

 

One child specifically said, “I want to make sure I can save a lot of money at the end of the month,” and was able to make a sizeable monthly (relative to income) charitable contribution as well.  

Julie says she left wishing she had experienced a field trip like that when she was a child. “Financial planning can and should begin at an early age so that our children are better prepared to handle their finances effectively in the future.”  

A Busy February for Our Health & Wellness Team

Our crew kicked the month off with a Go Red for Women week by recognizing a GO RED activity each day.  The week’s festivities included:

Monday:           Pin Day – We handed out pins to wear all week in support.

Tuesday:          Smoothie Day – A donation was given for each smoothie.

Wednesday:    Red Snack Day – Enjoyed strawberries and chocolate dip.

Thursday:         Appreciation Day – Gave a heart to someone you appreciate at work & told them why.

Friday:              Wear Red Day – Wore red and a smile. 

Center staff continues to log their health and wellness activities on the American Heart Association ® Start! website.   Julie Hall won a gift card to Starbucks for logging the most activities this month with Sandy Adams right behind winning a gift card for Subway.

Guest speaker, Venette Hysmith from Affordable Wellness Massage spoke to The Center about the importance of deep breathing, proper stretching, and ergonomics for the workplace.  We all came away with some new and simple to use health nuggets to put into practice.

Souper Thursdays continues to produce delicious feast and donations to the Cystinosis Research Network.   Here’s a look at one of our favorites!