By Martha Cox, Vice President of Family Foundations

Everyone – every family, every individual, every business – needs to be wise about money.

Wi$e Money Week is a week of activities and events celebrating the importance of good money management. Our community joins together to offer a huge variety of financial education opportunities for everyone – all ages and all income levels. Last year, we provided 22,218 hours of financial literacy in a single week! And this year, we plan to provide at least 25,000 hours.

Wi$e Money Week is filled with special events and classes for every age and every income level. One thousand of our Voluntary Prekindergarten students will each receive a Kids Savings Kit and have special lessons about money during the week. With the support of our community volunteers, we are teaching over 160 classrooms of elementary students about money for an entire school day. We have special workshops for our seniors on how to protect themselves from identity theft. We have classes at our libraries on everything from the basics of budgeting to investment strategy.

For people who want to shred sensitive documents, we are hosting 3 shredding events at Winn-Dixie stores. The Girl Scouts are holding sessions on finance during the meetings during the week. The Florida Institute of CPAs is hosting a day of education and a reception at the Main St. Library. The Chamber of Commerce is presenting numerous classes to build economic growth in our community. The Mayport USO is serving a “No Dough” dinner to all active military personnel. The Financial Planning Association of Northeast Florida is manning a phone bank at Channel 4 on Tuesday night to answer questions from the public. Prosperity Place and Northwest Jacksonville Community Development Corporation are both hosting a free 8 hour class for potential homebuyers, a class that normally costs $50.

After the week is over, we will join together for a Victory Celebration on Tuesday, May 27 from 5:00 – 7:00 at the Touchdown Club at EverBank Field.

The Annual Jacksonville Wi$e Money Week brings people together from all walks of life to teach and learn financial education. We are able to deliver a wide variety of classes because of our commitment to partner engagement and volunteer recruitment. We offer classes at multiple locations and times during the week to ensure classes are accessible and convenient for our attendees. We teach classes directly in the schools and send materials home to parents so that they can learn along with their children.

Wi$e Money Week is a movement that builds the knowledge, skills and abilities of Jacksonville citizens to better manage their personal finances. This Week brings our community together in a powerful way to change the conversation about money – that money is an issue that affects everyone and that each of us can learn how to better manage our finances.

Financially stable families and individuals are the cornerstone of a financially stable and successful community. We all have a responsibility to ensure that every child grows up in a financially fit household.

Celebrate Wi$e Money Week! Find a class or activity to attend at wisemoneyweek.org.