Moneythink
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Moneythink teaches high school students financial literacy -- how to manage money, a bank account and become entrepreneurs. It's not been developed by a bank or money fund, but by five University of Chicago students as a non-profit with peer mentors who teach a ten-week curriculum. Five other colleges have started the program.
Moneythink is not just about money but social responsibility as college students work with kids in some of Chicago's poorest South Side neighborhoods, becoming role models for the high schoolers, both sharing their personal experiences.
Popular culture keeps the kids interested -- using examples like the Chicago Bulls and Apple, Inc. as models of teamwork and collaboration. Working in groups, new learners start a business -- lemonade stands, a clothing business and an event company.
It's hard to gauge success; but one student high-fived a mentor in the school hallway and told him he saved enough money for new shoes -- Air Force Ones. That's success!
Read more in Chicago Weekly online.
Reported By Dr. Marciene Mattleman, KYW Newsradio
