Lori Mayfield is the Financial Literacy Program Coordinator for Interfaith Action of Central Texas and spoke to us about this new program. iACT received a grant from the City of Austin to set up a financial literacy program for 6-12 graders. The grant is for two years and covers fifty participants. So far, iACT has had 16 teens in the program. The goal of the program is to put low-income students on the road to success. The participants in the program participate in workshops, classes and activities that teach them about budgeting, saving, credit, debt, career planning, and low-risk investment vehicles. They visit banks and financial institutions that volunteer their time for this program. They also meet with other financial professionals and educators. Each graduate of the program receives $1,000 that is invested in a long-term investment vehicle for ten years at which time the graduate is given access to the funds. As required by the City of Austin, applicants to the program must be residents living within one mile of a Project Connection transit line or station and their gross annual household income should not exceed 80% of the current Area Median Family Income limits for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX MSA. If you know someone that would benefit from this program, please let Lori Mayfield know.