Girl Power Goals: Female-Oriented Financial Literacy
Offering financial literacy lessons is one of our FAVORITE ways to show our community we care. Recently, we delivered a series of financial literacy presentations catered specifically to female students at Mayo, Darlington, and Hartsville High Schools. ‘Girl Power Goals’ covered a wide spectrum of financial literacy topics, starting with the gender pay gap and money personalities, then diving into budgeting, credit, net worth, and earning power. The goal of this series of presentations was to empower our local students with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed financial decisions throughout their lives, starting at a young age.
Shannon Flowers, Darlington County School District’s Business Engagement Coordinator, was key to connecting SPC’s team with representatives from each school. She says of SPC’s willingness to step into local schools as financial literacy liaisons: “At Darlington County School District, it is our mission to educate, empower, and prepare all for an ever-changing world. This includes ensuring our students have healthy relationships with money. Students that begin a financial education earlier have been proven to have better financial outcomes as adults. Programs like ‘Girl Power Goals’ and partners like SPC are crucial to a high-quality financial education that results in less future debt, more tools to manage financial crises, and an overall higher quality of life. DCSD appreciates that SPC also strives to educate and empower and is honored to partner with them to assist bringing healthy financial futures to Darlington County.”
In order to make financial literacy relatable to high school girls, our team tied each of the topics to experiences that are often shared among this demographic. We discussed how frequent trips to fast food restaurants after school can put a real dent in your wallet if they aren’t built into your budget. We also talked Taylor Swift— the perfect pop icon to illustrate the concept of net worth, which students learned is equal to a person’s assets minus their liabilities.
Paula Alvarez, Hartsville High School’s Media Specialist, sat in on several presentation sessions. She said of SPC’s role in partnering with the high school to deliver financial literacy education: “The presenters of ‘Girl Power Goals’ take educating young ladies on the importance of financial terms, financial literacy, and financial freedom to the next level. First, the presenters symbolize what educational success in the banking world looks like and provided tips on how to obtain success in the banking environment. Second, the presenters identified practical ways that the girls could be aware of how they spend their money. Finally, the presenters showed the girls that saving their money is the way to achieve financial wealth and independence.” She added, “‘Girl Power Goals’ complements our Financial Literacy course, and I highly recommend it.”
'Girl Power Goals’ is one of many free financial literacy workshops that SPC Credit Union conducts on a regular basis. We are able to gear presentations, workshops, and other educational resources to groups of any size, age, and background. Our signature ‘Reality Fairs’ are always a hit with youth. Reality Fairs are eye-opening immersive learning experiences in which youth are exposed to many of the hidden costs of living and challenged to rethink how and where they spend their money. Individuals who participate in SPC’s Reality Fairs are assigned a job, salary, and family size; and are then instructed to work through a real-life scenario of budgeting for house payments, car payments, grocery bills, household supplies, childcare, and other standard expenses. Their goal is to end up with a balanced budget, which they often discover is more challenging than they imagined.
Linda Weatherford, SPC Credit Union's President and CEO, says of SPC’s commitment to providing financial literacy to the local community: “If knowledge is power, financial knowledge is a SUPERPOWER! Teaching financial education to students and community members is a part of our vision and mission at SPC Credit Union. We believe empowering our community with the tools they need to make better financial decisions will create a stronger community for all.”
For more information on SPC Credit Union’s financial literacy presentations, please contact Brooke Humphries, SPC’s Community Impact Liaison, at brooke.humphries@spccu.org.