Surging Demand for M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program Sparks Call for Volunteers

The M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program — a public service partnership between the Boston Bar Association and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts — expects to reach over one thousand students in 13 Massachusetts Public Schools in 2013. This represents more than a doubling of the students served in 2012.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to provide such an important life skill to this very diverse population,” says BBA Public Service Manager Sonia Shah. “This will be the first time since this program began as a pilot project at the Dorchester Academy of Public Service in 2005 that we need to recruit significant numbers of volunteers to meet the demand.”

The boost in demand for 2013 can be attributed to the BBA’s strong, collaborative relationship with the Boston Private Industry Council, and also to a suggestion by a BBA member living in Sharon, MA that Sharon High School provide the M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy course to every senior. For a summary sheet of modules, click here.

The BBA’s relationship with PIC developed over years of working together on the BBA Summer Jobs Program, which provides enrichment opportunities for diverse students in Boston’s Public High Schools. Ordinarily taught between January and March, the M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program in 2005 began being offered to the Summer Jobs students well.

During the summer of 2012, BBA volunteers and U.S. Bankruptcy judges also taught this financial literacy course to PIC Summer Jobs Students working at Sovereign and Citizens Banks and to the Nelson Fellows at the Federal District Court.

“We’re going to need some 100 new volunteers, and as always we’ll convene a training session to make our volunteers feel confident about what they’re doing,” said Shah. The training session will be held at the BBA on January 14 from 4 to 6 p.m. and all curriculum material will be provided. To register for the training session, click here.

Volunteers for the M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program need not be bankruptcy lawyers. Volunteers in past years have included law firm professional staff.

For more information about the M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program, please contact Katie D’Angelo at KDangelo@bostonbar.org

The M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program receives support from the Boston Bar Foundation.