Inner City 'Common Cents' Class Teaches Financial Management

Nine North Memphis residents recently participated in a 4-week financial course taught by Oasis of Hope volunteers.  Four of those in attendance currently rent Hope Houses built by the ministry.  The class taught the basics of money management and provided the foundation for them to plan financially for their futures.  This class was a pilot in hopes of offering many more financial education series for those interested.  Many thanks to Doug Edwards and the VITA volunteers (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) volunteers, as well as the Rise Foundation for making this possible. 

People don’t plan to fail financially; they just fail to plan ...

In the midst of the worst downturn in the economy since the 1930’s, what a better way to reach out to your fellow citizens then helping them understand the basics of personal financial accountability. Oasis of Hope sponsored our first Financial Education Series in conjunction with the Rise Foundation, called “Common Cents” at the April Woods apartment complex in North Memphis for the past four Thursday evenings. Six eager citizens of the Caldwell area took time out of their busy lifes to try and learn more about how they could manage their financial situations better.

The courses featured curriculum on how to develop spending plans, how to learn about and improve your credit scores, how banking and credit cards work, and then offering ongoing mentoring and accountability help through Oasis Volunteers. This is the first of what we hope will be many more financial education seminars that Oasis of Hope will hold in the Caldwell area. It is our goal that as we reach out to help our neighbors in need they “learn how to fish” so they can financially move ahead with their lives and build some financial independence.

The class was relatively small in size with 9 people attending, but some were faithful in attending all 4 sessions and reported that the class gave them important tools to make their financial dreams a reality.  If you would like to get involved in our personal finance ministry, contact Terrice Thomas or 901-527-0074.