Do Something has joined forces with Citigroup, a global financial services company, and LidRock, to teach youth the basics of money management through free, downloadable curricula and an online game during the Financial Education Challenge.
“Today’s youth have an unrealistic view of what they can afford on an entry level salary and the consequences that arise from overspending and the misuse of credit cards,” says Andrew Shue, actor and co-founder of Do Something. “We collaborated with Citigroup to create this program to empower youth to take control of their personal finances in preparation for life’s unexpected challenges.”
The program consists of free, age-appropriate curricula that are downloadable from our website, as well as a corresponding online game. The game allows you to pick a character, a lifestyle, and a financial goal, and then see if you've got what it takes to make it!
Although the curricula and the game are complementary, it is not necessary to do both; teachers can download the curricula and use them in their classrooms independently, and kids can log on and play the online game
on their own. Both components cover a wide range of financial topics, from
savings and taxes to income, credit, and more.
There are two sections to the game - “Learning” and “Doing.” The “Learning” portion of the Financial Education Challenge consists of the curriculum, which teaches students about money management, personal finance, taxes, credit and budgeting.
The “Doing” portion consists of a virtual online account where kids can sign up and receive an imaginary $1,000. The account allows kids to choose a career, a lifestyle, and a financial goal, and then it throws curve-balls over a 10-day period - such as loss of a job, a leaky roof, or their kid needing braces - and assists them with analyzing how to make the appropriate choices to reach their goal.
All game participants receive a message each weekday during the game, either in the form of emails or via the online game interface, for a total of ten messages. Each message will contain that month's bank statement, as well as an explanation of the imaginary events that occurred during that month that had an effect on the participant's bank statement. In addition, each day's message will include a prompt for participants to interact with the game, either to learn more about a particular event or to make a financial decision.
At the conclusion of the game, participants will receive information about how to make a financial plan. The participant will "win" if they have enough money left in their checking account to buy the item (vacation, fancy car, house, or retirement) they chose as their financial goal at the beginning of the game.
Looks like a fun way to prepare for your future!
Do Something | Topics | News
Do Something has joined forces with Citigroup, a global financial services company, and LidRock, to teach youth the basics of money management through free, downloadable curricula and an online game during the Financial Education Challenge.