Less than 48 hours until the start of CFED’s National Children & Youth Savings Conference. Should be a hoot. That is, if your idea of a hoot is learning about the latest in financial education and matched savings strategies for children and youth, which happens to fit within my definition of a hoot.
As conference blogger, I’ve been able to read the bios and aspirations of some of the other “scholars” who will be attending thanks to the generosity of conference scholarship sponsors including the College Success Foundation.
It’s an inspiring array of visionaries, from a woman who developed a children’s savings account program in a community in Puerto Rico serving “every child born within the municipality’s boundaries ” to another woman who was the “project leader for launching the Texas Saves YouTube Build Wealth Video Competition…where high school teens were encouraged to create 60-second PSAs on why savings is important.”
Representatives of some long-time leaders in the asset-building and youth services fields are among the scholars, including Southern Good Faith Fund in Arkansas and CASA of Oregon. But there are also emerging leaders of much younger organizations such as Bik’eh Hozho Community Development Corporation serving the residents of native American reservations in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, and Jr.Finance Literacy Academy in Grand Prairie, Texas.
As usual, I’m sure I will feel it’s far too little time to connect with all the people I would like to introduce myself to at this conference. But even meeting a fraction of them will make the trip tremendously worthwhile. Hope to see you there on Sunday.
