Danville Area Community College in Illinois held their first Money & Me workshop on Saturday, April 21, 2018, in the Bremer Conference Center. Brennon Hightower, one of the staff members who recently completed the online Money & ME Trainer Training, gave this report:
- Three TRIO staff members and 10 students attended the program.
- All sessions from the Money & Me workbook were covered with the coinciding Powerpoint slides. Career Services (Clothing Closet) provided two racks of clothing for students to shop through free of charge during Section 1 (Slide 33) where the importance of wearing appropriate clothing was discussed.
- During Session 3 (Smart Shopping) a demonstration was provided for each cleaning recipe listed on page 26 of the workbook. Students enjoyed the demonstration and took samples of the laundry detergent recipe. Students also appreciated how inexpensive and easy it was to make their own cleaning supplies. Students were actively engaged and participated openly during group discussions. These discussions were extremely helpful and provided several opportunities for teachable moments.
- Since printed materials play such an important role in our students learning, having the workbooks, calendars, and other materials provided helped to make the material easier to understand and digest. Nine students rated the workshop as “Excellent” and one did not answer.
- A working lunch was provided.
- After completing the workshop, we all agreed that “it is easier to keep up than it is to catch up” in life, especially with our financial obligations.
Brennon states, “We appreciate this opportunity to help our students make more informed financial choices in order to reach their own life goals. Our future workshops will be held in the summer months where we plan to serve the remaining 40 participants.”