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Your Two Cents: Planting seeds and breaking generational cycles, the power of Money Coach
At a recent Your Two Cents event, alumni of the Money Coach mentorship program shared with local business leaders how the program changed the way they think about and utilize money. The students were also given the opportunity to ask questions of the business leaders during a “flash mentoring” segment. A common theme that kept coming up as the students were telling their stories was the idea of planting seeds and breaking cycles.
As Money Coach Program Manager Stephaine Crosley explained, “In the Money Coach program we know for sure we’re planting seeds and we don’t always get to see those seeds blossom right then and there, but when we show up weekly for our students, and monthly and yearly through our alumni association, we water those seeds and break generational cycles.” And the students agree:
“The program really does plant seeds and helps us set a foundation so we’re able to go into the future more confidently, knowing that we’ve been educated with financial literacy. When you’re young, you don’t realize how much being financially educated will impact you until life really starts.” – Antonio
“I share what I’ve learned in Money Coach with my friends and family members, which allows me to spread the seeds beyond the program. I share the information so they can start growing themselves.” – Liliana
“I truly believe I’m breaking generational cycles. I’m the first in my family to be able to have my own apartment at the age of 22 and the first in my family to save thousands of dollars because of what the Money Coach program taught me. I’m the perfect example for my family to learn from because I want to be able to rely on myself and not anyone else.” – Amanda
“I definitely feel like I’m breaking generational cycles. Just the fact that I am able to provide for my little sisters by using what I learned in the Money Coach program and be someone they can look up to and show them that there’s a way to make it out of hard times if we work hard every day.” – Lemietric
Hearing the Money Coach alumni tell their personal stories of overcoming obstacles and emerging from the program with the skills and education they need to be financially capable is truly inspirational. As Amanda explained, “I am walking proof that this program works. I truly believe that this is a genuine program that gives students the financial foundation they may not think they need when they’re young. I recommend it to every teen.”
Lemietric’s message to the business leaders was to continue supporting the program because of its powerful impact on students’ lives. “We obtain a lot of knowledge that we aren’t taught in class or in our families because a lot of our families were never taught it themselves.” That knowledge is something that Liliana wishes more students could have access to. “Hopefully the Money Coach program continues to grow so it can reach everyone in a school, instead of just a few, because it’s that beneficial.”
After the alumni finished their flash mentoring with the business leaders Antonio gave a real-time explanation of why mentorship is so important when he revealed his question to the leaders, ‘What was the biggest financial hardship you experienced?’ “The reason I asked that question was because it lets me know that regardless of where any of us are in life, we all have problems. We all have hardship. And how we get through it makes us who we are. I’m making my way out of hardship, maybe not how you guys did, but I’m going to take pieces from everything I heard and use it to motivate me to be better.”
And that’s the power of Money Coach.