April is Financial Literacy Month! To help DC residents start the month on the right financial foot, DC Saves hosted its second annual Financial Literacy Fair at the Boys and Girls Club at THEARC in Ward 8 on April 4, 2009.
The Fair was a festive gathering, with free goodies and prize drawings, and LOTS of useful financial information for DC Savers.
The Fair’s attendees were able to take advantage of a number of free financial resources, including free tax preparation and filing, one-on-one sessions with credit counselors and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, and a wide variety of seminars and workshops.
Additionally, participants were able to meet representatives from many of DC Saves’ partner banks, credit unions, nonprofits, and government agencies, who shared information about various savings tools and loan products and resources to help residents take control of their financial futures. DC Saves partners BB&T and HEW Federal Credit Union also had mobile banking buses at the Fair, where fair-goers could speak with bankers, pull up their credit reports, and open new accounts on-site!
Taylor Thomas, host of WHUR's "Let's Talk Money" and Financial Fair emcee
The event, which was emceed by Taylor Thomas – host of WHUR’s “Lets Talk Money” – featured 24 total DC Saves partner exhibitors, 6 CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals, 4 credit counselors, and 10 seminars. 175 participants took advantages of these services, including 56 people who received credit reports and counseling. DC Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign volunteers also filed 26 tax returns (including nine returns for prior tax years) for participants at the fair!
Prizes were given away to participants throughout the day, and, at the end of the Fair, DC Saves held its quarterly savings bond drawing, where one lucky DC Saver won a $500 I-Series savings bond!
Gregory Washington, one of the participants at the Fair, summed up his experience by saying, “[The Fair] was very educational . . . a great personal finance lesson. The volunteers were great, everybody was very helpful, and foremost the credit report was great. I’ll [come to the Fair] every day of the week if you had it . . . that’s how great it was.”
A special “thanks” goes out to all of the exhibitors, event sponsors, and volunteers who made this event possible. Your support and efforts are greatly appreciated by DC Saves and all of the participating DC Savers, and we look forward to working with you again next year!
To learn more about DC Saves, and to receive information about future Financial Fairs and other DC Saves events, be sure to register as a DC Saver today at http://www.dcsaves.org/enroll.
The Financial Fair was made possible by grants from Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., and the Horning Family Fund, and sponsored by PNC Bank and Amalgamated Bank.
