WESTFIELD – A financial literacy event for high school students will be held on March 17 at Westfield State University called Credit for Life.
What is Credit for Life?
An intensive, interactive fair for high school seniors, Credit for Life asks them to pretend they are 25 years old. Given a career, and a commensurate salary, they must make the financial choices that we all face about spending money:
• Can I live alone or should I have a roommate?
• Where should I buy my furniture?
• What’s the difference between buying & leasing?
• Do I need to save for retirement now?
How does it work?
Students are given a credit score, a savings account and the freedom to make their cash or credit purchases at any of the 16+ booths including housing, insurance, transportation, food and clothing among others. Their choices are reviewed at the end to see how they managed their money and whether they ended up in the black… or in the red.
Why is a fair so important?
Education. Despite the effort at home and in school, less than 34 percent of high school teens can balance a checkbook, only 51 percent know how to write a check and fewer than 29 percent understand credit card fees. Students report that they are amazed at how difficult it is to manage money, pay bills and balance a budget and really appreciate this ‘make believe’ chance given to them at the fair.
Please help! We need volunteers.
More than 80 volunteers are needed to assist at the various booths. No special skills required, only a desire to work with the students and share your own life experience on budgeting, saving and spending. The commitment is one morning, about 4 hours, from 7:30–11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 17, at the Woodward Center at Westfield State University. A volunteer training session will be held on Friday, March 11 from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the auditorium at Westfield High School where you can ask questions and see how the fair works. If you cannot attend, a brief training can be given by the booth chair on the day of the fair, before the students arrive which will show you exactly what you need to do.
To volunteer: Send your contact information to Tina Macy, VIPS of Westfield, at [email protected]. Please include your name, telephone and email address.
