MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD
2019 was a mixed year, both celebration and sorrow, with the passing of our Chair, Laurie Mitchell. We recognized her life and many contributions to our organization at a dinner on December 13, which was also the 20th Anniversary of the founding of California Jump$tart, (which we also celebrated). Among our guests were Dara Dugay, the founder of the Jump$tart Coalition nationally, Stan Breitbard, the founder of the California Jump$tart Coalition, many ex-Board members, and past partners.
We’ve made great progress in our 20 years as a coalition. But, we have more to do for California’s youth. As a non-profit, all volunteer organization, we need volunteers, especially from the education field and business community, to help teach teachers about money.
Here’s a summary of our outreach and work during 2019:
- Since gaining teacher awareness is a key first step, we went to four California teacher related conferences last year.
- At CA Math Conferences we made connections with 2,645 teachers in the South, and 146 in the Northern event. This year, we have talked with over 3,500 educators about personal finance education, either for their own benefit, or to help them be comfortable in teaching students. We also hand out partners’ materials.
- We focus our outreach programs on teaching educators about managing their own money. Then we introduce teachers to our partners who offer classroom training for our youth.
Our Financial Foundations for Educators (FFE) program is designed to make teachers more aware and comfortable about their own money management, across California.
- In 2019, California Jump$tart held teacher sessions in school districts and colleges, ranging from Lodi, the LA County Office of Ed, and CalState Sonoma to the Orange County Office of Ed.
- We trained over 150 teachers on how to manage their own money.
- 2020 is lining up to be a major year for our FFE educator training, with many Districts scheduling FFE sessions through the summer.
We support teachers’ classroom efforts to teach about money through our partners. This year we’ve also funded 50 classes that teach about money, through Donor’s Choose. During 2019 we’ve given $12,000 to teachers and their classes to educate youth about money, through their projects.
We offer scholarships for teachers to attend the National Jump$tart Educator Conference. Designed for teachers who want to learn extensively about financial literacy, we have paid for transportation and housing at this key conference. The next Conference is November 7-9, 2020 in Atlanta. us to learn about scholarship opportunities.
We support our partners, and promote our work, via:
- this monthly newsletter, which has reached 3,500 subscribers
- our frequent Social Media posts, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (over 12,000 impressions monthly)
- and a website that promotes all of our partners and resources; (with 2,615 hits in December)
During 2019 we’ve made major strides in introducing teachers to financial education, for themselves and for their students. Thanks to all of you who volunteer and support us, and financial literacy.
California Jump$tart Board