volunteering makes sense: keeping California golden through financial literacy.

• Author: Thornton, Melissa

As a C PA, you are well-positioned to help your fellow Galifornians improve their financial knowledge that will lead them to make better decisions with their money. "How so?" you may ask.

You can volunteer for CalCPA's financial literacy programs. By doing so, you can share your financial knowledge and advice with students and teachers in the classroom, with consumers at community gatherings, and with the public over the internet. The money tips CPA volunteers like you provide can show Galifornians how to use credit cards properly, how to prudently manage expenditures and how to save for retirement.

Here are just a few ways you can make a difference.

Go Back to School

If you want people to know how to handle money wisely throughout their lives, you must get them while they're young. That's why CalCPA's classroom outreach efforts are so critical.

Our key outreach to students is through the High School Financial Planning Program created by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFK). GalGPA members visit high school classrooms to teach one or more of seven core financial competencies teenagers should master. Topics range from creating a financial plan to examining how lifestyle choices affect one's earning potential. CalGPA supplies NEFE materials to member volunteers who lead the classes. Materials are easy to follow and contain exercises and activities designed for interaction between the volunteer and students.

Admittedly, standing in front of students can be intimidating if you've never done it before. But CalGPA staff is available to help teach you techniques for successfully presenting the materials. Plus, classroom teachers want guest presenters to do well, so they'll give you tips on how to relate to their students.

CalGPA members also participate in Junior Achievement programs statewide to guide students through entrepreneurial workshops and teach them economic concepts. And CalCRA. members work with Operation Hope, an organization that targets underserved communities and provides financial literacy programs in the classroom and through extracurricular programs.

Teach the Teachers

Teachers, too, need financial guidance to stretch their pay So CalGPA has joined with the California JumpStart Coalition and the California Council on Economic Education to develop Financial Smarts for Teachers (FSFT). The program covers seven topics, including managing credit and how to purchase a house. Depending on school districts and educator...