Financial Fair support appreciated

On April 28, we hosted the second annual Reality Financial Literacy Fair at Horicon High School. The purpose of the project is to make students aware of the choices they will have to make when they enter the adult world.

We had 65 volunteers donate their time to help students make wise financial decisions. Our volunteers included a retired judge, a deputy from Dodge County, insurance people, financial advisors, a school superintendent, bank employees and many retired individuals. Many of these volunteers worked at our event last year and felt strongly enough that they asked to be included again.

Students came from Horicon High School, Dodgeland, Hustisford and the Beaver Dam Charter School. All students were given an identity based on a survey they filled out in their classes. They gave us information based on what their life status would be at the age of 25. Students were given an orientation in the cafeteria and then moved to the gym and 23 different stations to make decisions about how they would spend a month's wages. We also had an SOS booth that students could go to if they ran into financial roadblocks.

At the end if the financial journey, students could not be in the red, and they were rewarded with a cookie and a bottle of water. Students were required o fill out an evaluation on how the project helped them the following day. Overwhelmingly, students indicated that they didn't realize how many decisions there were to make and how difficult it was to keep the checkbook balanced. Some students came to the realization that the career they envisioned themselves at the age of 25 was not going to be able to support the lifestyle they would desire.

Horicon Bank provided all the checkbooks for the 200 students to use and schools provided additional paperwork for volunteers. Last year we were fortunate enough to receive $5,000 through a grant from the Governor's Financial Literacy Committee, and we used that money to purchase calculators, clipboards, tablecloths, and other items that could be used year after year.

This year we funded our project through the collaborative efforts of Horicon, Dodgeland and Hustisford writing a grant through MPTC. The total cost of the event was $992. The money went toward paying transportation to get students to Horicon, substitute teachers, food for the volunteers and table rental. Based on the feedback we received from students and volunteers we plan on having the event again in April 2010.

— Maria Bislew