May 12, 2009

OKMM Participates in Jump$tart Your Money Week

Oklahoma Money Matters (OKMM), OGSLP's financial literacy program, forged new partnerships, shared resources and held a kick-off event to promote financial education among college students and young working professionals during Jump$tart Your Money (JYM) Week, a series of events and activities held April 20-26 across the state to promote financial literacy in Oklahoma. OKMM partnered with the United Way of Central Oklahoma, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Oklahoma City Branch and the Oklahoma Jump$tart Coalition, the organization that hosts JYM Week, to execute an event for young professionals eager to make a change not only in their personal lives, but in their communities.

The kick-off event, titled "Making Change: It's Not Just Business, It's Personal," consisted of a panel discussion with local employers, community groups and volunteers who shared their processes and success in offering money management education for employees and the general public. The purpose of the event was to empower civically engaged young professionals with the information and tools necessary to make the case for financial education as a professional development activity and to integrate financial literacy in their service to community organizations. During the event, OKMM staff shared tools participants can use to assess educational needs in the workplace and identify agencies that will benefit from the money management resources and instructional support that OKMM and other members of the Oklahoma Jump$tart Coalition provide.

In addition to co-sponsoring the "Making Change" event, OKMM also released three new Money Talks podcasts in celebration of JYM Week: Financial Aid, Identity Theft and Living on a College Budget. Like the other Money Talks podcasts, these were developed exclusively for college students and are available for download from the OKMM Web site. OKMM's other activities in support of JYM Week included partnership projects with the Oklahoma Society of CPAs, YWCA of Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma Asset Building Coalition.

OKMM helps institutions explore campus financial literacy needs and offers customized support in the development of programs and services to meet those needs. For more information about integrating personal finance education in the services you currently provide, contact OKMM at 800.970.OKMM (toll-free), 405.234.4457 or oklahomamoneymatters@ogslp.org. We're here to help!