Oklahoma FCCLA Pilots New Program

Volume 37

Number 1

Winter 2006

By Erin Portman
OSU Intern

Oklahoma joins Arizona, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania in helping a new national savings program get off the ground.

With 309 chapters statewide, the Family Career and Community Leaders of America, CareerTech’s student organization affiliated with Family and Consumer Sciences Education, is spearheading FCCLA Saves in Oklahoma.

Eight Oklahoma schools are enrolled in the program including Afton, Agra, Caney, Edmond Memorial, Frontier, Hobart, Ponca City and Woodward.

Denise Morris

FCCLA Saves is an online program designed to help people understand the importance of saving money for the future. It is the result of a partnership between the National FCCLA Organization and America Saves, according to Denise Morris, state FCCLA adviser at the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education.

Recently, nine teachers from eight school districts across the state of Oklahoma participated in training at a cluster meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., to learn about the new program. On Jan. 19, the teachers will bring five students to training at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.

Prior to the training, students and teachers will set goals for the program in their communities. The training will consist of a two-hour course on how to present the program to FCCLA Saves participants and time to plan their next course of action for when they return home.

“Local FCCLA chapters will decide whom to market the program to in their communities,” Morris said. “They can focus on middle school students, high school students or adults. The FCCLA members will facilitate the selected group about the aspects of FCCLA Saves.”

The students running the program have the opportunity to gain knowledge themselves in several areas.

“As the students lead the program, they will also be learning about banking services, career options and networking within their community,” Morris said.

FCCLA Saves is designed to help people keep track of finances for one year. To accomplish this, participants set goals on an item they would like to purchase, such as a new car or a cell phone, at the beginning of the program. The goal is to make at least six deposits into a savings account throughout the year so the person can purchase the item.

The program also gives a boost to economic development within the community.

“The program is designed to create a habit of savings,” Morris said. “With the money people are saving for specific items, there is a good chance the money will be spent within the community.”

Each chapter will partner with a financial institution in the community that supports the project and helps participants set up savings accounts.

The program is set up through a secure Web site managed only by the state FCCLA adviser. People enrolled in the program will be responsible for recording their transactions efficiently and promptly.

America Saves and the National FCCLA will review the program at the end of the year to determine the level of the program’s success.

For more information about the LifeSmarts quiz contest, contact Denise Morris at (405) 743-5467.