I started volunteering regularly at Christian Mission in Mooresville, NC, in 9th grade because it was required by my school. I did simple jobs, such as assisting clients with shopping, stocking shelves, organizing the food pantry, and unloading donations at the loading dock. The hours were easy to coordinate with my school and extracurricular schedule, and it was a simple job. I appreciated that it added no stress to my life, and while I was just 1 of the 800+ annual volunteers, I was still playing a part in helping those in need.

Over the months, I noticed that the people we served weren’t necessarily Christian, and neither were they immigrants. Most of them were between 25 and 75 years old. Families visited with little kids. Some people looked like regular young adults; no disabilities or handicaps(that were visible). I started to question why the younger people didn’t go out and get jobs. Were they setting bad examples for the little kids? How and why were older people relying on a community organization for food and necessities?

Thinking about this more made me realize that they were making poor financial choices, and if someone had told them how to spend, save, and invest money when they were younger, maybe they wouldn’t be in this situation. I thought more about my own knowledge and realized that, beyond the basics of knowing that I need a job to support my lifestyle and must save for retirement, my knowledge about finances was very limited, too. According to a study by the National Endowment for Financial Education, approximately 74%–75% of U.S. teens lack confidence in their personal finance knowledge, and roughly 22% of U.S. teens lack basic financial literacy skills.

I found this club to teach financial literacy- skills such as saving, budgeting, investing, and debt management. It’ll allow teens to make informed, effective, and secure money management decisions so they establish foundational, long-term habits that prevent debt, foster independence, and secure a financial future. Secure financial future = stronger communities!

Vivahn Patel