Non-profit supports financial literacy for Central Okanagan children

Managing money can be tough and students throughout the Okanagan Valley are learning how to do so with the help of professional financial planners.

“Your relationship with money starts as children and I think that Junior Achievement going into schools makes an impact on a child and can impact their future financial security just from that one moment in their lives,” said Jacquie Haycroft, Sun Life financial advisor.

Haycroft volunteers her time with Junior Achievement, a nationwide non-profit group that has been helping students learn work readiness entrepreneurship and financial literacy with and facilitates a program called Dollars With Sense, to better prepare students for the next step in their lives.

“We talk about debt, we talk about what something really cost when you are paying for it in cash versus paying for it in credit and that’s a really good moment in class when we actually talk about how much interest really is,” said Haycroft.

Haycroft will be entering the classroom in December, but this time virtually, and students will have handbooks to work with the four-session course is something that School District 23 in the Central Okanagan superintendent Kevin Kaardal says is even more important than ever as Canadians face financial uncertainty due to the pandemic.

“It’s critically important all the time. I think it’s really important going forward particularly because small business owners and entrepreneurs are the ones that are going to get us through this financial challenge we are about to face,” Kaardal.

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The Junior Achievement program has complemented school programming for more than 15 years in the Okanagan and next year they will be introducing a new pilot program that will teach students about credit, what affects their credit scores and how to balance a budget.

“As adults, we all look back saying if only I knew then what I knew now and that hindsight as adults is what we are able to share with local youth … and allow the students themselves to explore themselves and figure out their own path to success based on the mentorship of people who have gone through it,” said Jason Ranchoux, Junior Achievement Interior Regional Manager.

Ranchoux said they are looking for more volunteers to share their expertise in the classroom and if teachers are interested in signing their class up all they have to do is visit the JABC website.

2:51 Toronto-based company focuses on empowering kids through financial literacy, entrepreneurship