Bank of America provides funding to improve students’ financial education

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation recently announced a $20,000 grant that supports a financial empowerment coach at Clark College.

The coach works directly with students to help them stabilize their finances and increase the likelihood of meeting their economic, education and career goals.

The grant, delivered to Clark College Foundation, provides ongoing support within the college’s career services department for the most vulnerable students.

According to a press release, assuring that a full-time financial coach remains on staff allows the college to continue providing workshops, classroom presentations and individual sessions focusing on how to budget, balance a checkbook, set long-term financial goals and understand credit cards, credit scores and loan repayments.

“The full-time coach has been highly valuable for our students,” said Lisa Gibert, president and CEO of the Clark College Foundation. “The coach assisted 64 students in one-on-one sessions over a seven-month period, held 27 different budgeting workshops for scores of other students and conducted specialty workshops for the Veterans Resource Center and the Pathways Center.”

Jamie Madison was one of those students. She was ready to graduate from Clark’s nursing program in 2015, when unforeseen circumstances led her to withdraw.

When she was contemplating a return, she was unsure if she had the resources. She met with the financial education coach who helped her outline her personal finances and discover ways to limit her spending and create a budget.

“I am now confident with my finances and proactively use the resources I have learned about. These resources help me through college and prepare me for my career after graduation,” said Madison, who returned to Clark to finish her degree.