ONTARIO, Calif.–As 2015 comes to a close, the Richard Myles Johnson Foundation is celebrating the immense success of its Bite of Reality program—which this year reached more than 9,000 students throughout California and Nevada.
Some 17 events were held in April 2015 alone—during Financial Literacy Month—reaching 1,722 youth. That was followed by another 12 events in the month of May, reaching more than 900 students, the Foundation said.
Some 40 credit unions hosted events this year, including Bay FCU, California Coast CU, CalCom FCU, Delta Schools FCU, Desert Valleys FCU, Diablo Valley FCU, Eagle Community CU, Financial Horizons CU, Great Basin FCU, Greater Nevada CU, Kaiperm North Bay CU, Kinecta FCU, LA Police CU, Mattel FCU, Nikkei CU, Orange County’s CU, PostCity CU, Redwood CU, San Francisco FCU, San Mateo CU, SkyOne FCU, Schools Financial CU, SchoolsFirst FCU, South Bay CU, Thinkwise FCU, Wescom CU, and Xceed Financial CU, as well as the El Camino Chapter.
SchoolsFirst FCU in Santa Ana, Calif. hosted one for 435 intermediate school students in Santa Ana in March. That same month, Thinkwise FCU in San Bernardino, Calif. held one for the San Bernardino Adult School—a first for the program. Other large one-day event included Antioch, CA-based Delta Schools FCU hosting an event for some 300 Antioch High School students. Schools Financial CU in Sacramento was scheduled to hold an event for an estimated 354 students at Pleasant Grove High School in December.
And already some 18 events are planned for 2016.
“The Bite of Reality program has grown from just 1,285 students in our first full year (2013) to more than 9,000 students in 2015. We’ve reached a total of 15,000 teens since August 2012 and, for many of them, this is their first exposure to credit unions. We have plans for improvements in the coming year, and I’m excited for the future of the program,” said Tena Lozano, executive director of the RMJ Foundation.
“This program has literally made life changing differences in kids’ lives,” said Greg Bainter, member services manager III for Schools Financial CU. “Over the past year, Schools Financial Credit Union has partnered with several high schools in the greater Sacramento area to present the Bite of Reality program. At every event, we hear similar comments from the kids. ‘I didn’t realize how hard it is to make it on your own’. ‘I now know what my parents have gone through and I will be more patient with them’. ‘I wasn’t planning on going to college, but this program has changed my mind because I want to get a good job’. As an education-based credit union, Schools Financial is committed to the ongoing financial education of our members and their kids, and this program fits perfectly with that mission.”
The program, which launched in 2012, aims to teach young people the basics of finance by having them take a “real world” test drive complete with a job, money, and the freedom to make their own financial decisions. The teens are given a fictional occupation, salary, spouse and family, student loan debt, credit card debt, and medical insurance payments. They then visit various stations to "purchase" items such as housing, transportation, food, clothing, household necessities, and daycare. Those staffing the "credit union" station provide much-needed assistance when some overspend.
Above, right, Schools Financial CU in Sacramento, CA hosted a Bite of Reality event at Pleasant Grove High School in Elk Grove, Calif. last April.
Below, staff from Hawthorne, NV-based Financial Horizons CU at a recent Bite of Reality event at Silver Stage High School in Silver Springs, Nev.