Helping Women Help Themselves

Transcription

1 Helping Women Help Themselves Fall 2016 From our Founding Mothers As we wrap up our sixth year and start our seventh, we re tremendously proud of our many accomplishments to date: 35 programs for 19 agency partners involving more than 275 coaches who ve helped nearly 400 low-income women take control of their financial futures. But our work is far from done. The severe recession underway when we launched Budget Buddies continues to keep many low-income households from moving forward. As recently as 2014, Massachusetts suffered the greatest increase in homeless families of any state in the nation. The economic challenges for women remain particularly harsh. Of households living in poverty in Lowell and Lawrence, 37% and 42% are headed by women, compared with 29% nationally. Knowing that low-income women who improve their financial skills, behavior, and self-esteem can greatly improve their lives and the lives of their families, we continue to build a strong organization that will take the Budget Buddies program where it is needed for the long term. In the coming year, we plan to run 12 programs up from 8 and bring Budget Buddies to Nashua for the first time. (See stories on pages 2 and 4). We re now also training local agencies to run their own programs based on our model through the new Budget Buddies Affiliate Network, which will help women in Boston and many other communities. To support these and future efforts, we are launching the Budget Buddies 20/20 Vision Campaign a commitment to run 20 direct-service programs and add 20 Affiliates by the year Reaching this goal will take ongoing help from supporters like you. In coming weeks we ll be asking for recurring gifts that will provide sustainable resources we can count on to make our 2020 vision a reality. We hope that you will consider joining this exciting effort either now, or in the future. We remain grateful for both the financial and volunteer support that continues to help our organization be all it can be. As you ll see in the story of Alice and Tasha (page 3), we re making a huge difference one buddy at a time. Happy Fall! Anita and Kathy Our Biggest Year Yet! By Katie Stoll See page 2 >> Alice and Tasha: Stretching a Paycheck By Emily Kay See page 3 >> Growth in the Granite State By Katie Stoll See page 4 >> 1

2 So Proud of our Latest Grads The end of summer brought a series of celebrations. Congratulations to the graduates of our eleventh program at House of Hope, our second program at Lazarus House, and our first program with Head Start in Lawrence! Big thanks to the heart of these programs our dedicated coaches and program leaders! House of Hope Graduates Lazarus House Graduates Budget Buddies Staff Anita Saville, Executive Director Kathy Brough, Director of Operations Katie Neville, Volunteer Coordinator and Business Manager Katie Stoll, Program Coordinator Patricia Grieff, Spanish Program Coordinator Chrisanne Douglas, Affiliate Network Coordiator Julie Lemire, Coaching Coordinator Nayda Cristian, Spanish Coaching Coordinator Budget Buddies Board Cathy Jenkins, President Sarah Ihugo, Treasurer Nicole Nguyen, Clerk Nancy Coan Brenda Gould Susan Graves Nancy Olt Danielle Piskadlo Todd Smith Robin Toof Our Biggest Year Yet! As the days get shorter, the temperatures get cooler, and the kids go back to school, we are preparing for our most ambitious fall program launch with both long-time agency partners and several new organizations. Returning to Our Roots In September we will start our first program for mothers of girls who attend the YWCA of Greater Lowell a multi-service organization serving low-income families whose mission of empowering women aligns perfectly with our values. We are also planning a third program with the Chelmsford Housing Authority for residents of the new Chelmsford Woods Residences, a 58-unit, all-affordable housing development. And, incredibly, we are starting our twelfth program with the House of Hope Shelter in Lowell Strengthening Our Ties in Lawrence In August, we completed a successful program with mothers of children who are in the Head Start program at the Greater Lawrence Community Action Council (GLCAC). (See graduation photo on page 1.) The coaches for this program were GLCAC Family Advocates, who support Head Start children and their families. This fall, we will offer a program in which the Family Advocates are the buddies. This will give us coaches for future programs, while enhancing the work Family Advocates do with Head Start families who are not in our program. In Lawrence we will also start our third program with the YWCA Fina House, a transitional housing agency for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as homeless teens who are pregnant or new moms. Crossing State Lines This fall will take our program out of state for the first time, thanks to partnerships with the Adult Learning Center and the Front Door Agency in Nashua, NH. The Adult Learning Center is a community education center. The Front Door Agency is a transitional housing program for young single mothers. (For more on our Nashua programs, see page 4.) We plan to run 12 programs in the coming year a 50% increase over the past year. We are thrilled to venture into new locations, while deepening the commitment to our home community, and help many more women control their financial futures. 2

3 Thanks Ben! Many thanks to Ben Grossman, our summer Co-op Scholar from UMass Lowell. There is so much that goes on to make sure that each program runs smoothly for both the buddies and the coaches, Ben says. From compiling binders to running errands and recording quotes, there is constant activity at the office. Alice and Tasha: Stretching a Paycheck Before Latosha (please call her Tasha) collaborated with her coach, Alice, the former Walgreens pharmacy tech had trouble paying her bills. I wasn t saving any money at all, Tasha says. A Smarter Plan for Retirement In addition to considering it economically prudent to buy items as soon as they went on sale at Walgreens, Tasha, a 40-year-old mother of four, was caught in a Catch-22 with two retirement plans. Walgreens matched contributions Tasha made to both her 401(k) and Roth IRA. But she found that she was left with too little cash to meet her expenses. By lowering her 401(k) contribution and discontinuing contributions to the Roth IRA, Alice says, Tasha had enough take-home pay to meet all her expenses and put some savings aside. Working with Alice, Tasha determined that purchasing just a few discounted products at a time was far more cost-effective than buying a slew of them. Alice would say, Instead of 10, just buy one or two. They ll always go on sale again, Tasha says. Alice also helped Tasha discover that she could save some $30 a week if she brown-bagged her lunch occasionally. Lessons for All In addition to the every-other-week Budget Buddies workshops, Tasha and Alice met on the off week at a Dunkin Donuts near Tasha s home to reinforce the formal lessons. The duo became such regulars that one of the restaurant s staffers often joined their fiscal talks. Both women came away from the experience enriched. Alice, who once trained and mentored women entering the workforce, found it to be an eye-opening experience that reinforced the knowledge that not everyone comes from the same white-bread, middle-class background. It s made me more compassionate, tolerant, and understanding, she adds. For Tasha, the one-on-one relationship with Alice offered her the opportunity to open up about her financial struggles in a safe environment where others were similarly trying to cope. I could talk to her about anything and not feel ashamed, Tasha says. 3

4 Seeking Coaches in Nashua As we branch into New Hampshire, we seek more coaches in the Nashua area. If you - or someone you know - would like to learn more about coaching for one of our Nashua programs, we encourage you to attend a Volunteer Information Night. For more information, visit us at budgetbuddies.org or call Support this Newsletter Advertise with us to reach a group of awesome community-minded individuals! For more information, contact Katie at k.neville@budgetbuddies.org A Vision for the Future Watch our web site, our Facebook page and your for information on our 20/20 Vision Campaign. We re expanding our reach and creating a sustainable organization to empower more women in 2020 and beyond! Growth in the Granite State When thinking about new places to bring our program, Nashua, NH, seemed like a natural next step. It s close to our home base in Lowell and has many residents who could use our help. Nashua is the second largest city in New Hampshire, with a population of approximately 87,000. Like Lowell and Lawrence, Nashua was developed during the Industrial Revolution and the heyday of fabric mills in the 1800s. By the early 1900s, waterpower was replaced with new forms of energy, and many of Nashua s mills closed. Today Nashua has a vibrant economy again thanks to BAE systems, Oracle, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and other technology firms. Opening A Door to Self-Sufficiency But not all of Nashua s residents are thriving. According to the US Census Bureau, 10.7% of Nashua residents live in poverty. More than half of these households are headed by women. We are happy to partner with the Front Door Agency and the Adult Learning Center, two agencies helping women in Southern New Hampshire. The Front Door Agency gives women a time and place to recover from the trauma of homelessness. The Front Door Agency s Transitional Housing Program is open to single mothers between the ages of 18 and 35 who are pregnant or have young children. Residents must show a desire and ability to participate in an educational program that would help them obtain a GED, college degree, or new job skill. Life-Long Learners The Adult Learning Center is a community education center with a comprehensive curriculum that includes GED prep, ESOL classes, computer classes, and job training. The Center also offers childcare, educational camps for children, and an alternative high school for teens. In 2014, its students included 635 immigrants from 72 countries. The financial education that Budget Buddies provides will supplement programs offered by these two dynamic organizations. We are proud to bring Budget Buddies across state lines to serve a new community. 4

5 Our Amazing Legislators Please join us in thanking the many Massachusetts legislators who helped us win state funding again this year in a particularly difficult budget environment. We are especially grateful to the long-time supporters in our local delegation: Senators Mike Barrett and Eileen Donoghue and Representatives Tom Golden, Cory Atkins, Jim Arciero, and David Nangle. Journey of a Budget Buddies Intern by Sarah Fry When I started volunteering at Budget Buddies, I knew nothing about personal finance. I d heard that credit cards are bad and that living on a budget is good, but beyond that, I was a lost cause. After volunteering in the Budget Buddies office, I still don t know that much about financial literacy. What I do know is that financial literacy can have a huge impact on one s life. I saw many women with full time jobs, families, and even college degrees who struggled to make ends meet. They came from diverse backgrounds, but all had something to learn about personal finance. And, they re not alone. My friends and I could use this help, but no one is giving that to us. So, to make myself at least a little financially literate before heading off to college, I took my school s first ever financial literacy course. I ve already noticed huge changes in how I manage my money. I ve created a budget, started saving up for my goals, and opened a bank account (after looking for the best interest rate and lowest fees, of course). The effect of this class will only grow as I gain financial independence. I can now better understand how Budget Buddies helps women struggling with their finances. If I, a high school student, found some basic financial education to be useful, I can only imagine the profound effect it has on a Buddy. Though I m beginning to understand how necessary financial literacy is, many young women are not getting the same exposure. My friends ask me how the payment plans work on the new phones they want to buy and even my older sister, a neuroscience major at University of Michigan, recently asked me what a mortgage was. Women everywhere have a lot to learn about personal finance. That s why programs like Budget Buddies are so necessary. Though I have yet to kick my Dunkin Donuts habit, I m much more informed on personal finance and plan to pursue a finance minor in college. So thanks, Budget Buddies, for teaching me about how important financial literacy is, because it s made a real difference! 5

6 Budget Buddies 114 Turnpike Rd., 2D Chelmsford, MA Fall 2016 Look What's Happening at Budget Buddies! newsletter Inside: Our Biggest Year Yet! Alice and Tasha Growth in the Granite State Journey of a Budget Buddies Intern Please support the businesses that support our work.