The nonprofit Foundation for Personal Financial Education has opened its first Connecticut chapter with the hope of helping people get a grip on managing their finances.
The Foundation, which offers free seminars, started in 1994 in San Diego to provide financial education to workers in state and federal government and at Fortune 500 companies. Today, it offers workshops in 16 states, having added Connecticut in January. The foundation is funded by donations and small member fees.
“We have made some very exciting strides since starting,” said Paul Poulin, Connecticut chapter director. “We originally started with four workshops focusing on cash management and getting fiscally fit. After going through these workshops with some of our current employers, we were asked for more so we are now doing one on Medicare, tax planning and we have added stress management and healthy lifestyles. We have also added a second chapter in Fairfield and believe we will have a third in 2011.”
Poulin has found that attendance at seminars is growing as people “are overwhelmed and going 24/7.” Often times, he says he sees many people who lose sight of how critical it is to take care of their personal finances. His goal at seminars is to give each attendee enough information to make informed decisions and find a financial road map that can be used long after the seminars end. He hopes to also help people address the financial stress they’ve been putting off.
“It’s very rewarding to do a follow up workshop and have someone pull you aside to tell us that they just finally started their 401(k), finally got a will done or they feel really good about being ready to retire,” Poulin said. “I think employees feel like their employers are really trying to add benefits during these challenging times and truly appreciate it. The employees are also active in choosing what topics they’d like to hear about in the future. So I think it’s a win-win for everyone.”
Two Grants Aid Parkville Center
Family Life Education has received two grants totaling $410,000 from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, one for Parkville Family Center programs and one to relocate its offices and further explore development of a collaboration of nonprofit agencies to improve services to Parkville neighborhood residents.
The Parkville Family Center, which opened in 2003 as part of the Hartford Foundation’s Brighter Futures Initiative, has been awarded a $300,000 grant to support a wide array of programs that support parents in promoting the healthy growth and development of their children, getting them ready for school and being successful in school.
With the aid of a two-year, $110,000 planning grant, Family Life Education will move its offices and the Family Center within Parkville, from 39 Grace St. to 30 Arbor St., adjacent to Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford. The move will allow the two agencies to build on each other’s services and programs and serve as the beginning of the development of a Parkville Neighborhood Collaborative. More than two dozen agencies have been discussing a collaboration, which would provide, under one roof, a multi-agency, “one-stop shopping” approach for the delivery of education and social services to Parkville residents.
“We believe a collaboration of agencies is the best method to address the multi-faceted challenges of the families and youth we serve with the highest quality of services possible,” said Candida Flores, executive director of Family Life Education.
Arts Council selects Fellows
The competition was so intense for the four available Solo Writers Fellowships this year, that the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving increased the funding to permit 16 Connecticut writers to be honored. Fellows receive $2,375 each for virtually any purpose that might lead to the creation of a new work.
This year’s fellows include playwrights, essayists, poets, literary journalists and fiction authors. They are: Sandra Rodriguez Barron, Milford; Michael Burgan, West Haven; Jonathan Gillman, Chester; Susan Kinsolving, Bridgewater; Edward Markiewicz, Rocky Hill; Leslie McGrath, Stonington; Maureen O’Brien, West Hartford; V. Penelope Pelizzon, Willimantic; Julia Pistell, Hartford; Dan Pope, West Hartford; Thomas M. Ratliff, Plainville; Dana Rondel, West Hartford; Mary Donnarumma Sharnick, Beacon Falls; Ravi Shankar, Chester; Pegi Deitz Shea, Rockville; and Edwina Trentham, Moodus.
The Solo Writers Fellowship program is administered by the Greater Hartford Arts Council and funded with a grant from the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
