Goodwill to offer public free classes on money management

Staff Report

Good Dollars and Sense, Goodwill’s free 12-hour course in money management, provides community members with the skills and knowledge needed to make the best financial decisions and to achieve their personal financial goals.

Morning and evening courses will be offered twice a week throughout the month of June. The morning course will be offered at the Joyner Neighborhood Resource Center, a new community center aimed at assisting residents in Rockford’s west side. The free classes cover banking basics, identity theft, goal-setting, borrowing basics, savings and investments, housing basics, and understanding your credit report. Participants will receive a course workbook and credit report, as well as a financial incentive for completing the course.

“Goodwill, along with our partners, is happy to work with the Joyner Neighborhood Resource Center and offer this class and the necessary skills to more individuals in our community,” said Courtney Geiger, director of Mission Services. “The need for financial education and the ability to make sound financial decisions has never been greater.”

This program is a collaboration with several well-known and knowledgeable financial institutions and agencies, including Family Credit Management Services, the Better Business Bureau, Rockford Area Affordable Housing Coalition, Members Alliance Credit Union, Generations Credit Union, Savant Capital Management, and the Brad Streeter American Family Insurance Agency. The program is sponsored by the United Way of the Rock River Valley.

To date, more than 130 students have completed the course, and more than 70 percent of the graduates have made financial changes that impact their everyday lives.

Good Dollars and Sense will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from June 12-28. The daytime session will run from 10 a.m. to noon at the Joyner Neighborhood Resource Center, 1401 W. State St., Rockford. The evening session will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at Goodwill’s Mission Services Center, 615 N. Longwood St. in Rockford. If you are interested in signing up for either class or would like more information, contact Goodwill at (815) 965-3795 or e-mail programs@goodwillni.org. Classes are open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis.

From the May 16-22, 2012, issue