Managing Money

Building Economic Security

Achieving Financial Goals

JP MORGAN CHASE RENEWS FUNDING FOR WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE FINANCIAL EDUCATION SERVICES WITH A $150,000 GRANT

 
(left to right): Teresita Wisell, Director, Gateway Center at Westchester Community College; Suzanne Matthews, Director, Center for Financial and Economic Education at Westchester Community College; Eve Larner, Vice President, External Affairs at Westchester Community College, Executive Director of the Westchester Community College Foundation;  Bob Como, Senior Vice President, Business Banking, Chase; Ed Muendell, Senior Vice President, Government Banking, JPMorgan; Cathie Schaffer, Senior Vice President, Middle Market Banking, Chase.  

The Westchester Community College Center for Financial and Economic Education (CFEE) has received renewed grant funding from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. This grant support for the upcoming fall semester, in the amount of $150,000, will enable the CFEE to expand its diverse initiatives to provide personal finance training and education to the student population, faculty members and staff, and the community at large.
 
The activities funded by this grant will include financial education sessions targeted to a broad array of young adults on the campus, students with financial and academic needs, and students in the English Language Institute. The grant will also allow the CFEE to expand the range of programs offered to Westchester residents and to continue to grow partnerships with other community organizations involved in financial education.
 
“We are deeply grateful to JPMorgan Chase for continuing to provide critical support to build and expand the CFEE, which, in turn, is committed to offering urgently-needed personal finance training and resources to our campus community,” says Dr. Joseph Hankin, president of Westchester Community College.
 
With initial grant funding from JPMorgan Chase Foundation, the CFEE was launched in May 2011, to serve as a platform for personal finance education in the County by providing the framework and leadership for programs that assist young adults, families and individuals better manage their financial lives.
 
“Nothing is more important than helping individuals in our community to become more informed about managing their everyday financial decisions,” says Bob Como, head of Chase Business Banking in Westchester County, northern New York, and Connecticut.  “JPMorgan Chase is very pleased to enable Westchester Community College to carry out programs that are so essential to college students and adults of all ages and to support initiatives that help to drive positive economic outcomes for Westchester residents,” he adds.
 
During its first year, the CFEE introduced a variety of noncredit workshops and classes that covered different aspects of personal financial management. Sessions were also targeted to students involved in programs such as TRIO (a Federally-funded program for disadvantaged students) and the Educational Opportunity Program, as well as those involved in College Success, a skill-building course for incoming college students. 
 
According to Suzanne Matthews, director of the CFEE, “Our program responds to the fact that the large majority of our students and residents of Westchester County have never had access to effective financial education. We are very pleased that in the past year we’ve been able to lay the groundwork for carrying out our mission of bringing professional resources to the community and making money management tools more accessible to individual students and adults.”
 
Through various student organizations and academic programs, the CFEE delivered sessions to over 800 students on core financial topics such as credit, debt, saving, and investing. Matthews further adds that “In the coming year we hope to significantly increase that number, thanks to the support we have received from Chase.”
 
The CFEE has been actively involved in promoting financial education in the county by helping to form the Westchester Financial Education Alliance, a group of four organizations including the United Way of Westchester and Putnam, the Financial Planning Association of the Greater Hudson Valley, and GreenPath, Inc. One of the events sponsored by the Alliance was Financial Education Day held at the Gateway Center at the college in March of 2012. This half-day financial conference was open to the public and offered free financial workshops, one-on-one counseling and  a well-known keynote speaker, Jean Chatzky.  This successful event attracted over 250 participants, including college alumni, residents of the county, students, faculty, and financial professionals.  The CFEE is involved in planning similar events in the coming year.

For more information about the Center or the Chase grant, please contact Suzanne Matthews by phone at 914-606-5627 or connect with her via email at Suzanne.matthews@sunywcc.edu.

A New Resource to Help Manage Your Money

Westchester Community College is taking a proactive approach to improving our students’ financial well-being.  We are pleased to announce the launch of CashCourse®, a new online resource accessed through the college web site, which will provide students and others in the community with information and tools to better manage their financial lives. 

CashCourse can be found at: http://www.cashcourse.org/sunywcc. The site offers an array of tips and tools on basic financial topics that students and adults need to deal with many of the common financial problems that arise from this increasingly complex financial world.  With the introduction of CashCourse we join more than 550 colleges and universities that use the program on their campuses throughout the U.S.

CashCourse  is a quick and user-friendly way to get information about everyday money issues that most students face in these challenging economic times:  stretching dollars, managing credit cards, repaying student loans, and saving for future emergencies.  The site includes advice and content around many of the common financial issues that young adults face, but it also features financial information that can be used by individuals of all ages.

CashCourse includes articles and features on a range of related topics such as budgeting and financial planning, paying for college, managing credit and debt, building wealth, and surviving in tough economic times.  The site also offers worksheets, calculators and assessment tools that students can use to learn on their own or as part of classroom work.  Other useful features include a “Budget Wizard” to help students manage their spending, an online directory of common financial terms, and a credit module that covers important information about managing credit cards.

All of the information on the CashCourse site has been developed by the National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) a nationally-recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting personal finance education. The information included on the CashCourse site is noncommercial and unbiased, with a focus on teaching the basics of core financial concepts and making smart money decisions.

CashCourse is one of many resources being offered as part of the Center for Financial and Economic Education, a new  initiative in the Gateway Center.   The Center for Financial Education, under the direction of Suzanne Matthews, was created this year with a grant from JPMorgan Chase with the objective of bringing essential financial education resources to students, faculty and the community at large. The Center will be offering more activities, including workshops, seminars, and speakers throughout the coming academic year.

For more information on CashCourse and the Center for Financial and Economic Education, contact Suzanne Matthews, Director, Suzanne.Matthews@sunywcc.edu.