Merrill Lynch, Girl Scouts partner with grant for financial
training
Managing money might not be a top priority for most first-grade
girls, but a new partnership between the Girl Scouts of Monterey
Bay, which serves San Benito troops, and Merrill Lynch will offer
financial training for girls from elementary school to high
school.
Merrill Lynch, Girl Scouts partner with grant for financial training
Managing money might not be a top priority for most first-grade girls, but a new partnership between the Girl Scouts of Monterey Bay, which serves San Benito troops, and Merrill Lynch will offer financial training for girls from elementary school to high school.
“As a firm, we believe in starting early with our young people,” said Cathy Parades, a vice president with Merrill Lynch. “We’ve partnered with many organizations globally around developing finances and entrepreneurship.”
The Girl Scouts seemed a perfect match for Merrill Lynch, according to Parades, because the troops teach financial skills and entrepreneurship with their annual cookie sale. Merrill Lynch offers financial management and investment services.
“We are thankful to Merrill Lynch and their support for young women in the area,” said Jennifer Carter-Scott, a public relations coordinator for the Monterey Bay County Girl Scouts. “The grant was just recently received and we have put together a plan to allocate the funding.”
With money from the grant, the Girl Scouts of Monterey Bay have planned money management workshops and a financial literacy program.
The council is organizing eight hours of money management workshops at 10 sites for 200 girls in elementary school.
The grant will also fund eight hours of money management workshops for teen moms in Watsonville.
The highlight event includes an eight-week financial literacy program for girls in sixth through 12th grades, which will likely be during summer 2007.
“Especially for underserved communities, [finance] is not the topic at the dinner table,” Parades said. “A national survey of high school students found that most don’t understand the basics of interest rates.”
The same study found that most students said they learned about finances at their home even when it was not talked about often.
In addition to helping students learn about finance, Merrill Lynch programs often familiarize kids with management jobs.
“Students can create a mock business where someone is the CEO,” Parades siad. “They understand what they do. Someone else is the CFO – someone is in charge of marketing … It is making bridges – it’s a little more accessible to be a business owner and be in a powerful position.”
Another part of many of the programs Merrill Lynch sponsors is teaching kids about financial basics such as savings, checking accounts and credit cards.
“With the Girl Scouts it seemed like a natural fit because they do a great job of exposing girls to mentors,” Parades said. “They have development opportunities through camp and workshops – and they do the big cookie sale.”
During spring, Girl Scout cookie order forms show up in offices, at home and after the pre-sales are complete, girls in brown or green outfits can be found at the front door of grocery stores throughout the country. The money raised from the chocolate covered Thin Mints, toasted coconut sprinkled Samoas and other Girl Scout favorites, is used by the girls to attend day camps or other activities.
Girls learn marketing skills, budgeting and inventory through the cookie sale, Parades said.
This year, part of the grant money from Merrill Lynch has also been used to purchase a scanner and debit cards for the cookie credit program. In the past, the girls received a slip of paper that said how much “credit” they had earned through cookie sales.
“Now girls will be issued a debit card with a financial management program piece that addresses wise spending choices,” Carter-Scott said.
Cookie sales start Feb. 23, just in time to coincide with the first National Entrepreneurship Week Feb. 24 through March 3. The House of Representatives established the week to encourage entrepreneurship education.
“Girls practice useful life skills like planning, deciscion making and customer service,” Carter-Scott said. “During cookie activities, girls are members of a team working towards a common goal, with each girl striving to do her best.”
