Southeastern to host Family Financial Literacy Night
Thursday, April 16, 2015
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND –April is Financial Literacy Month and Southeastern Louisiana University's Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center, in partnership with the Louisiana Council for Economic Education (LCEE), are joining forces to host a Family Financial Literacy Night on April 30 from 6-8:30 p.m.
The free event encompasses activities designed to appeal to community members of all ages, offering something for everyone.
"From a puppet show and crafts for the little ones, fun presentations for tweens and teens on budgeting and saving, how money works presented in English and Spanish, financial aid guidance and resources for families of college bound students, to information on identity theft, investment and retirement planning, home ownership and small business considerations, programs for entrepreneurs, money matters for couples, classroom resources for educators, and much more, everyone can take away something," said Director of the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center Joan Gunter.
President/CEO of LCEE Laura Smith said their organization focuses on helping educators impart principles of personal finance in innovative and engaging ways, crossing content area and meeting grade level standards.
"Far too many students in Louisiana leave school unprepared or under-prepared to handle their financial futures. This impacts their lives in myriad of ways; living in debt, unrehearsed for financial emergencies, suffering the long term effects of blighted credit... all of these potential pitfalls can destroy families and futures," she said. "Helping to hone sound decision-making skills and training our children to determine 'Wants versus Needs' is crucial to their future success and carries over into many aspects of their lives.
"Our goal, through providing educators with professional development and innovative teaching tools, is to impact both teacher and student populations," she added. "Many teachers are substantially lacking financial literacy themselves; through our training, they are able not only to identify areas of need in their own lives, but they learn innovative and creative ways to bring this life-changing information to their students while meeting state student learning standards in a variety of content areas."
Livingston Parish public and private schools are invited to participate in a Financial Literacy Poster Contest called "Dollars & $en$e: Smart Choices for YOUR Future." Entries will be hung at the Literacy & Technology Center throughout the month of May. The Arts Council of Livingston Parish will adjudicate the contest, announcing the winner at the April 30 event. The young artist with the winning entry will receive an art supply kit, and their poster design will be used as the cover art for next year's community event.
Free food provided for the event will be provided by the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Department, Walmart and Raising Cane's. Special appearances by Livingston Parish Talented Theatre students are also scheduled.
More information is available by contacting Gunter at (225) 665-3303.
