LYNN — High school juniors will be learning personal budgeting and other financial skills at Lynn’s first-ever Credit for Life Fairs later this month.
Lynn Public Schools is partnering with community bank Institution for Savings, headquartered in Newburyport, for the money management fairs, according to a release from the bank. The fairs are also funded by a Financial Education Innovation Fund Grant from the Massachusetts Office of Economic Empowerment.
The first fair will be at Lynn Classical on Nov. 14, in conjunction with Lynn Tech, and the second will be at Lynn English High, in conjunction with juniors from Frederick Douglass Collegiate Academy and Fecteau-Leary.
“The goal of the Fair is to help empower students to be proactive about their financial futures by beginning to develop sound personal finance habits,” said Institution for Savings President and CEO Michael J. Jones said in the release. “Each year we hear from parents, guardians, volunteers and teachers after the event that they wish this had been around when they were in school! We are glad to assist the Lynn Public Schools with these important events – it is invaluable to these students and is something they will use throughout their lives.”
At the Fair, students will create profiles on their mobile devices on the Bank’s Credit for Life website, creditforlife.org. After choosing a profession on their profile, the students will visit 14 booths at the Fair — such as housing, transportation, utilities, and food — and use their monthly paycheck and bank accounts to purchase what they would need as a 25 year old.
“We are pleased to provide our students with this opportunity to gain practical and useful money-management advice from professionals in the field. We appreciate the Institution for Savings making this program available to our high school students to complement the financial literacy opportunities LPS provides all students,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Evonne S. Alvarez said.
“The Office of Economic Empowerment, a division of the MA Treasurer’s Office, provides annual grants in conjunction with the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, and the Division of Banks, for Massachusetts high schools and special education programs to offer Credit for Life Fairs for their students,” according to the release.
Lynn received a $6,900 grant, which will be spent on equipment and materials for the fairs, according to the release. Institution for Savings is providing other necessities for the fairs, such as signage and volunteers. More than 100 community volunteers will be helping at the events, including Chamber heads, CPAs, attorneys, nonprofit leaders, business professionals, and the Bank’s employees.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Institution for Savings to bring this worthwhile program to our students. Many students in America begin working and earning income as early as middle school, yet they are usually not taught how to manage their money. Credit for Life teaches high school students how to make the type of financial choices and decisions they will need to make throughout their lives, but right now while they are still in school. We are hopeful that our young people will use this knowledge to put themselves on a path to a better financial future for themselves and their families thanks to their financial education in LPS,” LPS Assistant Director of Curriculum for History Kristen Tabacco said in the release.
“Financial literacy is a key life skill and I’m grateful to all the partners coming together to provide this opportunity to our high school students,” Mayor Jared Nicholson said.
