DuTrac Community Credit Union in Dubuque, Iowa is placing an emphasis on the importance of youth financial literacy. In 2016, they collaborated with community partners to hold five Financial Reality Fairs at local schools to help bridge the current financial education gap. They did so through the support of a grant from the Foundation.

“The need for ongoing financial literacy is strong among many Americans,” said Andy Hawkinson, President/CEO of DuTrac Community CU. “It is an especially strong need among school-aged young people where limited resources and prescribed curriculum’s limit the teaching of basic financial skills and knowledge.”

A Financial Reality Fair is an interactive financial literacy tool for high school students, helping students to experience some of the financial challenges they will face when they start life on their own. It’s a hands-on experience in which students identify their career choice and starting salaries then complete a budget sheet requiring them to live within their monthly salary while paying for basics such as housing, utilities, transportation, clothing, and food.

DuTrac provided a one-day Financial Reality Fair at four local high schools and one middle school, reaching over 1,018 students. DuTrac’s Reality Fairs included 13 different booths to assist students in making decisions based on their income, real-life anticipated expenses, and working within their budgets.

 

 

continue reading »