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Students working in the AmeriTowne TV Station prepare a newscast. 62% of Denver metro area 5th graders participate every year.
A recent report by the Federal Reserve Board finds that four in 10 American families are financially fragile: unable to meet a $400 emergency without going into debt.
But there is hope! Researchers studying financial fragility demonstrate that financial literacy “reduces the likelihood of being financially fragile by more than six percentage points…above and beyond the effects of educational achievement.” Thanks to Aegon Transamerica Foundation, financial literacy programs like Young AmeriTowne and International Towne are available to all students, regardless of background.
Since 2017, Aegon Transamerica Foundation has supported Send-a-School, a scholarship program that affords low-income schools an opportunity to participate in Young AmeriTowne and International Towne. Last year, 8,271 students from 102 at-risk schools received financial aid. These programs deliver financial education in a hands-on way; students run their own Towne of 17 shops or their own world of 16 countries. In addition to gaining personal finance knowledge, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students learn skills that will help them in the real world: how to apply and interview for a job, how to work as a business team, and how a store or country makes a profit.
How does this knowledge help students? An Aurora teacher whose students participated in AmeriTowne On the Road in March summed up the results this way: “We have a diverse student body that includes refugee and low-income students. The most incredible thing about Young AmeriTowne is that our students are able to take this knowledge home to their families to help them navigate the financial decisions they have to make.”
Young Americans Center for Financial Education is grateful to Aegon Transamerica Foundation for providing these learning opportunities. On-going support ensures that tens of thousands of children are prepared for a financially-successful future.
