Boys & Girls Club of East Aurora, New York Charters Its Own Bank;
Promotes the Lost Art of Check-WritingYou know those commercials with happy shoppers breezing in and out of stores with the swipe of a debit card until a lone check-writer fumbles for a pen and the plastic-happy rhythm comes to a grinding halt? At the Boys & Girls Club of East Aurora in New York, not only is check-writing encouraged in the club’s store, snack bar and at dances, it’s also part of Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s popular financial education program. Money Matters: Make It CountSM teaches teens the lost art of check-writing along with essential money management skills many adults twice their age have yet to master. To bring Money Matters lessons to life, last year the club created its own “bank.” The club provides each teen participant with $1 to start and a checkbook complete with register and deposit slips. Kids may deposit money, and when they wish to purchase an item, such as a slice of pizza from the snack bar, they are encouraged to write a check as payment—provided they have the funds in their account to cover it. As a group, the kids learn to reconcile bank statements created by the club with their own check registers. “Everyone wrote at least one check and received a statement,” says Kathy Pomerhn, director of operations and director of the Money Matters program at the club. Beyond basic skills, Money Matters is also opening teens’ minds to money management. “Before the course I would buy stuff I didn’t need,” says Samantha, 14, a recent participant. “We talked about saving, and I learned how to set goals for myself. Now I have money…because I’ve learned more about how to handle money.” In fact, in this age of electronic banking and drive-up ATMs some teens in the program had never even seen the inside of a bank. The club took the Money Matters group on field trips to local banks to learn about what happens to checks when they reach the bank, how Internet payments are handled, and how money is stored. A local bank has also offered free savings accounts for kids to start them on the savings track. “We found that while many of the teens had heard some of the terms or about some of the financial concepts we discussed, for the most part this was all new information to them,” says Pomerhn. Knowledge in the bank is already paying off. “It makes me feel more secure because now I’ve seen how it all works,” says Samantha. “I’m taking a trip to Italy and Greece this summer for an international studies course, and the skills I learned in Money Matters helped me maintain an account to save for the trip. We learned about savings accounts and it helped me figure out which type would be the best for me to use.” The East Aurora club currently offers Money Matters to middle school teens but is planning an advanced course for high school teens and graduates of the original program. “Before I took the course I was nervous about growing up because I didn’t know how I would handle money,” says Rachael, 14, another recent Money Matters participant. “It’s not that hard if you organize, plan and save. It really helped me think about future savings, especially for college.” Samantha agrees. “Money Matters has made me less nervous about the future. It has made me feel more confident about starting to plan for college. I feel like I can do most of it on my own.” Back to Top
|
