HCC Receives Grant From Bank of America to Support Financial Literacy Needs of Students

Bridgeport, CT - The Housatonic Community College Foundation has received a $10,000 grant to respond to the financial literacy needs of its students. The grant, awarded by Bank of America, provides funding for a series of financial literacy workshops and a Financial Reality Fair.

The grant will also support creating a comprehensive catalog of the College’s financial literacy resources and expanding the capacity of the HCC Financial Literacy Center. Additionally, it will fund activities of the HCC Business Club, including financial education field trips and financial literacy guest speakers throughout the academic year.

Free, one-hour monthly financial literacy workshops will be held in the HCC Library, led by student presenters under the guidance of Mary Ann Vlahac, HCC’s Instructor of Business Administration. Presentations will feature Bank of America “Better Money Habits” materials, the firm’s financial literacy curriculum. Support references will be available to students from the HCC financial literacy collection.

“National studies cite two-thirds of college students face financial difficulties preventing them from completing their studies and achieving their career dreams. Both Bank of America and Housatonic Community College are working together to change this statistic,” said Vlahac.

A Financial Reality Fair will be held in April, during National Financial Literacy Month. This interactive event will allow students to identify their career choice starting salary, then challenge them to complete a spending plan to live within budget while balancing paying for basic living expenses, such as housing, food, and transportation, with non-essential expenditures.

“Our goal at Bank of America is to help make financial lives better, so we understand the importance of arming young adults with the tools and resources they need to achieve long-term financial success,” said Bill Tommins, Southern Connecticut market president, Bank of America, “We’re proud to invest in local educational institutions like Housatonic Community College, and together, we’re working to remove the different barriers to economic mobility that our community members may face.”

“Through these efforts, students will have the information they need to make smarter financial decisions and become better equipped to reach their educational goals,” said HCC President, Dr. Paul Broadie II. “We are grateful to Bank of America for their generous gift and for helping to make these valuable resources a reality.”

The workshops will be open to all HCC students and the community. Topics explored will be relevant to students’ interests, ranging from building spending plans and digging out of debt to living with a roommate, and managing digital security. For more information, please contact Mary Ann Vlahac, MVlahac@hcc.commnet.edu.

Housatonic Community College Foundation

Founded in 1990 by a team of business and arts leaders from the greater Bridgeport community, the HCC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that solicits, secures and manages contributions from the private sector through individuals, corporations and foundations for the benefit of HCC. The HCC Foundation distributes resources in the form of full and partial scholarships to students with proven academic performance and demonstrated financial need.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 67 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,400 retail financial centers, including more than 1,700 lending centers, more than 1,900 Merrill Edge investment centers and more than 1,300 business centers; approximately 16,100 ATMs; and award-winning digital banking with approximately 36 million active users, including 25 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.   https://bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/en

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Submitted by Fairfield, CT

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