First half of the grant period- The library provided new materials and programs to the community of St. Marys. These new services increased and will continue to increase the understanding of basic personal financial topics for all age groups. The benefit was preparing patrons for their futures by providing them with the tools they need to get out of debt, stay out of debt and plan for the future. These tools provided patrons with less stress due to their finances and improved their quality of life by showing them how to live within their means.
The library collected pre-surveys to gage the beginning knowledge and interest of the public to help in planning programs and purchasing new materials. The library contacted the local high school and credit union to begin planning a reality fair to get a realistic look at what their financial situation will be like when they are 25. The library has created a list of book materials to purchase. The library has begun the first session of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University to help our community members learn about budgeting and getting out of debt. The library has planned a children's storytime and a teen program for Money Smart Week. The library has contacted two local banks about future programs.
Second half of grant period- The library's first session of Financial Peace University ended. Participants learned a lot about managing their personal finances, the types of insurance and investing plans they should have, and how to be a savvy consumer. The library has a wait list for the third session to be held in the winter.
This program meets every week for nine weeks, and builds upon the knowledge participants learned in previous weeks. It gives the participants homework and they discuss what they have done financial during the week at the programs. The programs gives the participants a support group of people in the same mindset, and they are able to talk to each other about their successes and failures. At the halfway point in the course, the difference is visible. The participants are actively participating in discussions and are beginning to see a change in their personal habits. Participants leave the course with three monthly budgets completed. This makes the budgeting process easier, as it takes a few months to learn how to do a successful budget.
The library created a finance program for children and for teens both of these programs were held two times each. One of each was done during Money Smart Week in April and the other was done in July during the Summer Reading Programs. The children's program was for elementary aged children. They listened to four stories that talked about saving, earning and spending money. The children were then given coins for a Craft Market. The children were given different options on a piggy bank craft they could complete. They had to buy their supplies for the craft. The children learned that once their money was gone, they could not purchase anything else. The benefit was to help them understand how money works in the real world. Their parents did not have extra coins they could use to buy supplies if they ran out. The children learned that you cannot buy everything that you want.
Attendance at both of these programs was low. During the middle of September children in Kindergarten and First grade came for a library tour. At the end of the tour, the children heard the story Just Saving My Money by Mercer Mayer and were given small cardboard banks to encourage them to save money. A play cash register and grocery store set were purchased for the library's play program to introduce the youngest group to play with money.
The teen program started with thinking of something for which they would like to save. The teens drew a picture of that or wrote down the goal. That paper was put into a shadow box (a picture frame with a large space between the glass and the frame. The teens were instructed to take the frame home with them and to use it like a piggy bank. Money inside it would only go towards meeting that goal. This provided teens with a visual aid to help them in saving money. The benefit is that they would learn to save money instead of buying things off credit when they are old enough for loans or credit cards.
The second part of the teen program was a blind taste testing of name brand versus generic foods. The teens learned that the name brand is not always better and that a lot of money can be saved by buying off brands. The major takeaway was that bottled water tastes identical to filtered tap water and that they could save hundreds of dollars each year by making that switch. Teens had a discussion about ways they could save money on name brands (couponing and waiting for them to go on sale). The discussion and taste test will help them save money on groceries in the future and keep them open to trying new things.
The library finished purchasing all materials, processed them, and put them out for circulation. These materials provided for patrons to learn about a larger range of topics. Also, these materials are available for patrons anytime they are interested in a topic in the future. The benefit is having the information available when they need it on topics they are interested in. The library also purchased ebooks and eaudios. These materials are available to everyone in our district stretching the number of people this grant might benefit.
A Reality Fair is being planned for late fall and will be open to all juniors and seniors in the county. Reality Fairs are provided by the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association. The fair gives high school students a realistic outlook on what life will be like when they are 25 years old. The students are given a realistic starting salary for the field they want to work in, student loan payments (if applicable). The students then visit tables representing housing, transportation, utilities, entertainment, phone, cable, etc. The students budget in the types of services they want, and then they have to evaluate their budget and go back to the stations and make adjustments. This program will teach students that they will not be able to afford a sports car on a starting salary and that they need to watch how much student loans they take out. They will learn what real costs are associated with being an adult, and they will learn how to create a realistic budget. The benefit is having students prepared for the real world before they make mistakes.
