Money Smart Week Illinois

The Unviersity of Illinois Extension is offering train-the-trainer workshops using Extension’s All My Money curriculum at several locations around Illinois over the next year, starting with the Chicago area in September. All My Money is a hands-on, train-the-trainer curriculum, designed for staff and volunteers in community agencies and social service organizations who work directly with limited-resource clientele. The lessons cover all the basics of money management and consumer skills.

All My Money training sessions will be held at regional locations throughout Illinois between September 2011 and summer 2012. Get additional information and register today!

Money Smart partners offered numerous events throughout Illinois in 2011. MSW Illinois partners hosted nearly 500 events and activities. These events attracted a participant total of over 9,000 adults and children! Some featured partners who hosted wonderful events were the Children’s Discovery Museum in Bloomington-Normal, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Illinois National Bank in Springfield. Check out the full 2011 annual report to learn more.

A simultaneous reading of Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense story is slated for April 2, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. in communities throughout Illinois.

Goal

With literacy and financial literacy often going hand in hand, Money Smart Kids Read gives us an opportunity to bring a little bit of fun and education to our communities. We hope to engage both parents and children through this activity. 

Details

Children are invited to a familiar location in their community. A guest reader will read the Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense. Some locations also will provide an age appropriate activity. Ages 3 and up welcome.

Time to get smart with your money and learn how it can work for you! This year Money Smart Week will run April 2 - 9, 2011 with over 1,000 events throughout the state of Illinois. With a variety of topics including investing, personal finance, teens and money, estate planning and more, you are bound to find one that is right for you. The online calendar of events is up and running, take a look and pick an event to attend today!

Money Smart Week® will be held throughout most of the District in April 2011. That means it's time to encourage your kids to show that they are money smart (and they might win a scholarship, too). Money Smart Kid competitions will be opening over the next few weeks. So check out the MS Kid resource page, download the flyer for your area and get to work.

The Department of Finance at the University of Illinois, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, is hosting its 2011 Video Essay Contest.

This year we will have two segments for the Video Essay Contest: one for traditional video essays and one for Video Essays built with XtraNormal or the equivalent.

Students in grades 9 to 12 produce Video Essays addressing a topic for their education level. This year the video essay must address some aspect of money management for students. Videos must be received by 5 p.m. Tuesday March 29, 2011. To check out this year's competion, please visit the contest's website.