HARRISBURG, Penn.–The Pennsylvania Credit Union Foundation (PCUF) is reporting it was able to increase the reach of its Financial Reality Fair program with 40 fairs being held across the state of Pennsylvania in 2016.
The Pennsylvania Credit Union Association received support for this initiative from the National Credit Union Foundation through an Experiential Learning Grant.
“We are so grateful to the Foundation for their support of our expansion of Financial Reality Fairs,” said Kathleen Fey, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Credit Union Foundation, in a statement. “Having multiple kits available to circulate around the state has allowed us to introduce Reality Fairs to more students than ever before.”
A Financial Reality Fair is an interactive financial literacy tool for high school students, helping them to experience some of the financial challenges they will face when they start life on their own after high school.
To meet the increasing demand for Reality Fairs in the state of Pennsylvania, PCUF said it trained four credit union staff and two Foundation staff members to assist with fairs. It was also able to purchase four new Reality Fair kits, which were distributed across the state to credit union partners.
Through this addition of new trainees and Reality Fair kits, 18 new Reality Fairs were conducted in schools across the state, the Foundation reported. In addition to the 18 new Reality Fairs, 22 other Reality Fairs were hosted in Pennsylvania, ultimately reaching 5,159 student participants.