EDGE Learning & Wellness has launched “Financial Fridays”, a new program to enhance the financial literacy of students. The program focuses on a variety of personal finance topics and is offered monthly, on Friday mornings, for current students and is also open to any of our alumni who wish to attend.
EDGE has a commitment to working with students and parents to improve each student’s skills across life domains. The staff team works to assess student needs and reaches out to expert providers to create programming that supports student achievement in academic, wellness, interpersonal, vocational, emotional, and financial arenas; this offering targets the key habit of organizing one’s finances in a way that results in being poised and prepared for unanticipated challenges and opportunities.
As of 2014, only 17 states in the U.S. mandated financial literacy education and only six states required testing of finance management skills for graduation from high school.[i] In a related finding, a recent survey by U.S. Bank indicated that less than 60% of college students nationally know how to construct and follow a budget, would grade themselves a “B” or higher grade for managing their personal finances, or understand the fundamentals of building credit or investing for retirement.[ii] The report “Money Matters on Campus” revealed that college students felt less prepared for managing money than any other aspect of their college lives (coursework, organization, resource identification and utilization, etc.).[iii]
“We have researched ways to further support the development of financial literacy skills and practices for our students and we are excited to engage Mary DiChristofano to help us move beyond the things we’ve done well in the past like budgeting and intentional spending,” according to Jason Wynkoop, LCSW, who is the Executive Director at EDGE. “It’s apparent from the research and from our experience with students that the skills and knowledge that college students possess is inadequate for the challenges they’ll face as they continue into their adult lives.”
Mary D. DiChristofano, a Private Wealth Advisor and Senior Wealth Strategist with Graystone Consulting/Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, is leading the program. She currently services the firm’s clients as their Family CFO, coordinating all of their financial and estate planning needs as well as philanthropic intents. Mary’s passion for educating her clients and providing them with a solid understanding of complex and sophisticated strategies does not stop with the senior family members, but is diligently delivered to the family’s next generation. Her interest in EDGE is in helping students appreciate the opportunities that they have to craft their own futures through thoughtful management of their resources.
[i] National Council for Economic Education. (2014). Survey of the states: Economic and personal finance education in our nation’s schools in 2014. New York: NCEE.
[ii] U.S. Bancorp. (2015). 2015 Students and Personal Finance Study: Student Perspectives on Money and Finances. https://financialgenius.usbank.com.
[iii] Money Matters on Campus. (2015). Money Matters on Campus: How College Students Behave Financially and Plan for the Future. http://moneymattersoncampus.org.
About EDGE Learning and Wellness Collegiate Community
EDGE Learning and Wellness Collegiate Community is an accredited transitional living program located in Chicago, IL. EDGE offers therapeutically supported residential and non-residential options for post-treatment young adults. The participants, ages 18 -24, are striving to excel academically, while creating a life of balance, joy and wellness.