University of Illinois Extension Money Mentor Program is BACK in McLean County!
BLOOMINGTON, IL. – If money, finances, savings, retirement, budgets, and planning are a few of your key buzzwords; we have just the program for you. University of Illinois Extension is restarting the Money Mentors program right here in McLean County and we are now looking for both participants and volunteers!
Participants
If you are interested in getting one-on-one financial mentoring to help organize and manage your financial life, the Money Mentor program can be a great resource for you. We train volunteers to provide research-based, effective financial education that supports long-term positive outcomes for individuals who participate in the program. We offer personal finance guidance to help participants achieve their goals. The University of Illinois Extension Money Mentor program's 2017 Annual Report indicated that individuals who participated in the program were able to make significant changes to their financial lives. This includes: (a) paying down debt, (b) saving money for family members in need, (c) developing budgets that worked well for them, (d) increase contributions to retirement saving, and (e) practicing healthy credit card usage. In addition, there is no cost to participants of Money Mentors.
Volunteers
Money Mentor volunteers receive approximately 30 hours of training in money management, financial mentoring, and community resources. During training, volunteers have the opportunity to apply financial knowledge to case examples and to practice mentoring skills. Money Mentors dedicate hundreds of volunteer hours through their role with mentees and involvement in community activities each year.
What are the first steps to becoming a Money Mentor you might ask? An application, interview, and background check are required for admission into the program. A one-time $40 fee helps cover training and material costs. Partial scholarships available if needed. Following the training, each volunteer agrees to complete volunteer hours annually in financial mentoring and community outreach. Money Mentors meet regularly for continued training as well as planning projects. Money Mentor training in McLean County begins Thursday, June 14.
If you are interested in either participating or becoming a volunteer for the Money Mentor program, please contact University of Illinois Extension Consumer Economics Educator, Camaya Wallace Bechard at cawb17@illinois.edu or (309) 663-8306. And always, check back in with us online at go.illinois.edu/LMW for a list of upcoming Extension programs.
University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this program, please call 309-663-8306.