BEACON OF LIGHT FOUNDATION
ETA XI SIGMA ALUMNAE CHAPTER
Women's Financial Literacy Program
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National Financial Literacy Month is recognized in the United States in April in an effort to highlight the importance of financial literacy and teach Americans how to establish and maintain healthy financial habits.
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Originally, in 2003, the United States Senate designated April as Financial Literacy for Youth Month. In March 2004 the Senate passed Resolution 316 that officially recognized April as National Financial Literacy Month. This bill expanded the goal to raise awareness about financial wellness.
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Many companies and organizations provide resources to educate Americans on financial wellness. In 2014, State Farm looked for potential programs that would help to elevate underserved female populations. Beacon of Light submitted a proposal for a Women’s Financial Workshop. Through a grant from State Farm Insurance Company.
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The Beacon of Light Foundation of Eta Xi Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated, in 2015, has been hosting Financial Literacy Workshops for Women. (taken from www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-literacy-month)
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The purpose of Beacon of Light Foundation of Eta Xi Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Financial Literacy Workshops has been to address the need that exists within low income households to understand and improve their financial situations.
This has been accomplished by:
Introducing participants to the major components of personal financial planning
Conducting interactive sessions to allow participants to gain some hands on skills with regards to budgeting, saving, and credit
Conducting follow up meetings to help guide participants in the real life applications of the skills learned.
Students have been provided with worksheets, calculators, portfolio and other resources to enable them to work on their own. Each year, the workshops have repeated certain topics such as budgeting, the value of acquiring and maintaining insurance, consumer fraud protection, saving for the future and importance of maintaining good credit scores. In order to remain relevant, the workshops have also included such topics home ownership, basics of investing, starting a business and property protection.