Teens Cash In With Workshops

The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) is offering an eight-session program to teach teens the basics of managing their own finances. "We asked the teens in a focus group what kind of programs they wanted," says Susan Harden, director of the library's new program, Initiative for Youth in Business, and they told us, "Something that tells me: How do I buy a car? How do I read my paycheck, or a car insurance policy?" The workshop, which is taught by Harden with Chanelle Jackson, a volunteer from Bank of America, a corporate sponsor, is called "Teens: Getting Down to Business," and runs at one of PLCMC's branches through November 21.

PLCMC had been investigating ways to help teens gain the kinds of life skills they'll need once they begin working—skills they don't always get from their own families, Harden says.

To jump-start the program, the Bank of America Foundation made a modest donation: $500 and 20 copies of a $40 software program, "Financial Fitness for Life," available through the National Council on Economic Education (www.ncee.net). Part of the $500 went to advertise the program in high schools and organizations such as school key clubs.