Supporter Spotlight: WaterStone Bank
WaterStone Bank is committed to providing literacy programs for teens. Their support of our Money Sense program over the last 10 years has empowered nearly 1,300 teens to take charge of their financial futures! That’s 1,300 ‘money smart’ teens ready to secure their futures.
Recently, WaterStone volunteers John Heimsoth and Meghan Wein led a Money Sense session that focused on understanding credit scores and credit cards for twenty-four freshmen at Pius High School. “Credit scores are just like GPAs…They represent everything you’ve done up to a certain point,” informed John Heimsoth. Feedback and questions from students demonstrating their understanding of the topic. “So you can just avoid interest by paying off your credit card? I’m just going to do that every time,” said one student to a volunteer.
Both John and Meghan are seasoned volunteers with SecureFutures. In 2017, John taught Money Sense with other WaterStone volunteers in both Ronald Reagan and Waukesha South High Schools. This is Meghan’s third year teaching Money Sense at Pius High School.Meghan Wein led a Money Sense session that focused on understanding credit scores and credit cards for twenty-four freshmen at Pius High School. “Credit scores are just like GPAs…They represent everything you’ve done up to a certain point,” informed John Heimsoth. Feedback and questions from students demonstrating their understanding of the topic. “So you can just avoid interest by paying off your credit card? I’m just going to do that every time,” said one student to a volunteer.
“Growing up in a family of educators, teaching students has always had a special place in my life and the relationship between WaterStone Bank and SecureFutures has quite honestly been the most rewarding experience I’ve had during my time with both organizations,” said John Heimsoth.
He continued, “I know firsthand the effects poor money management can have on someone – feeling like they are literally drowning in debt every single moment of the day. I’ve probably made every mistake you could between the ages of 16 – 25 as it relates to money, credit cards, and budgeting. It affected every area of my life and thankfully I finally realized I had to teach myself the basics of how to budget and stop living paycheck to paycheck. The techniques and tools that SecureFutures provides and teaches teens are the exact things I use every single day. I’ve come to find out through my own life journey that financial literacy is probably the one of the biggest passions of mine. The monetary value – as well as the positive psychological impact – this knowledge brings as these teens grow up cannot be understated! I might be biased based on my experiences in life, but I think the curriculum SecureFutures develops for all the high schools they partner with is the most important, and most applicable, topic these teens will cover in high school.”
Also, special thanks to Doug Gordon, long-time SecureFutures Advisory Council member and supporter. As an Advisory Council member, Doug provides guidance and direction to SecureFutures leadership that strengthens the effectiveness of our programing and community impact.
WaterStone is a full-service, Milwaukee-area community bank offering wealth management, free checking, business loans, home equity lines of credit, and more.
