MANCHESTER, N.H.–St. Mary’s Bank and IMPACCT Academyhave announced a new partnership designed to teach at-risk students with disabilities about financial literacy. The program will benefit 250–300 IMPACCT students from 70+ high schools across the state, the credit union said.
IMPACCT Academyprovides pre-employment transition services to students with disabilities and operates under Inspiring the Mastery of Post-Secondary Achievement in College, Careers and Training (IMPACCT), a partnership of New Hampshire Vocational Rehabilitation, Granite State Independent Living (GSIL), and high schools throughout New Hampshire.
“Many of our students join the workforce, earn their first paychecks, and then don’t know what the next step is,” said Maureen O’Donnell, GSIL’s Director of Education Services. “When we approached students, we learned that many were not familiar with the banking services their families utilized.”
To fill this skill gap, IMPACCT Academy introduced financial literacy into its curriculum in July 2016. Recognizing St. Mary’s Bank’s commitment to financial literacy, GSIL staff reached out to the credit union for guidance on establishing a coordinated program to teach students with disabilities the financial skills they need as they transition out of high school.
“We had begun using It’s a Money Thing, a financial education program that makes learning about money matters fun and memorable, in some of our financial literacy efforts,” states Elizabeth Stodolski, director of Marketing at St. Mary’s Bank. “We thought it might be perfect for IMPACCT Academy.”
To help IMPACCT instructors get up to speed with the 36 modules of It’s a Money Thing, St. Mary’s Bank recently led a supplementary “train the trainer” workshop. Twenty IMPACCT instructors learned about the program’s elements and how to most effectively teach its modules. Workshop participants divided into small teams to explore the various financial topics, from “Saving” and “Using Credit” to “Financial Investing” and more. The teams then led simulations of how they would transfer these learned topics into the IMPACCT classrooms.
To further help IMPACCT Academymroll out the It’s a Money Thing curriculum, St. Mary’s Bank made a donation from its 1908 Fund. This fund, named for the year St. Mary’s Bank was founded, supports programs and organizations that work to move families and individuals toward financial independence.