Communities In Schools of Marietta/Cobb County hosts financial literacy events known as Reality U. The events help students understand the realities involved in preparing for adulthood and an employable future. The goal is to learn about the correlation between fiscal well-being, academic achievement and financial literacy, while role playing real life situations.
Participating students are provided an adult scenario complete with marital status, number of children, occupation and net monthly income. They then visit a variety of booths operated by community volunteers to purchase housing, transportation, child care, food, utilities and insurance just to name a few.
Jessica Magalahaes, a senior at the Marietta Performance Learning Center ®, was given the role of a single parent with two children and a job as an office clerk. The scenario and event taught her that hard work and education lead to more possibilities. “Reality U teaches me about real life and being more cautious with my money,” Magalahaes said. “The more education I get, the better job I will have.”
CIS of Marietta/Cobb County engages with community volunteers to help stage the event. Irene Burton, a volunteer and local affiliate board member, sees the event as important for students as they prepare to enter the real world upon graduation. “This event is a true dose of reality,” Burton said. “Many students don’t understand what it takes to be responsible for themselves and others. Hopefully they are able to make the correlation during this event of being successful in school and in the real world.”
For more information on how you can volunteer at an upcoming Reality U event or other volunteer opportunities, visit http://marietta.communitiesinschools.org/.