Dollars and sense: youth seizing financial skills and opportunities for the future, 2004

The purpose of this project is to bring attention to the urgent need to educate African American youth on issues regarding finance and investment for the future. Through educating youth, they are further allowed to discover personal economic empowerment. The basis for economically empowering youth is derived out of the ministry setting of the Saint Thomas African Methodist Episcopal Church. The setting is the place where the ministry issues find its genesis. Consequently, the project: Dollars and Sense: Youth Seizing Financial Skills and Opportunities for the Future is designed to educate the youth of Thomasville, Georgia. One of the limitations of my proposed project is that there was great difficulty finding data that bears similarity to my project. Consequently, I am engaging in an area where little research has been done and there is very little documentation. The project will provide both theoretical and practical application for young people. Various academic perspectives will be examined in order to provide insight into the causes of the economic plight of so many blacks in America, and hopeful solutions to the problem. The empirical disciplines are as follows: sociology, psychology, anthropology, political perspective, and African American history. The normative category will include the theological and biblical. There will also be an exploration of various economic programs that can aid one in achieving economic empowerment such as: Homeownership, Mutual Funds, Individual Deposit Accounts, Public/Private Ventures, and Entrepreneurship. The program will bring in professionals in the field of business and finance to introduce (and hopefully invigorate a desire in) the youth to pursue financial stability for the future. The program will be analyzed and reflected upon to determine its strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations for the future