ēCO Credit Union, through the ēCO Credit Union Foundation, was excited to partner with the Shelby County Chamber and the Richard Myles Johnson Foundation to present Bite of Reality to ten schools and over 1,600 students throughout Shelby County during the 2020-2021 school year.
Bite of Reality® is an interactive budgeting simulation. Students were invited to download the Bite of Reality App. Through the app, they were assigned a job, income level, credit score, and family.
Then, Pari Barzegari, Director of Community and Career Development at the Shelby County Chamber, walked them through making a series of purchases. From purchasing a home to being sure their child had diapers, students’ eyes were opened to the variety of expenses adults face in the real world. ēCO Credit Union joined in for each presentation to add other useful financial education tips.
“Starting the school year during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge but our administrators have worked tirelessly to make sure The Shelby County Chamber’s career readiness programs could reach their students for the 8th consecutive year,” said Pari Barzegari. “As we bring this school year to a close, we have a new understanding of the virtual teaching and technology driven world our students and educators have been thrown into this year. We are thankful to be a part of local school career readiness programing, for another, albeit very different year.”
ēCO Credit Union and the ēCO Credit Union Foundation are committed to providing financial education to people of all ages. If you’d like to set up a Bite of Reality seminar for your classroom, email: marketing@ecocu.org.
“We are so thankful to partner with the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce to help students become more career ready and financially literate,” said Melissa Stewart, ēCO Credit Union Marketing Director. “We hope participating in Bite of Reality® helped students think about their future and begin having conversations with their parents or guardians about how to effectively manage money.”