FLARE (Financial Literacy and Advancement for Rio Grande Valley Equity)

FLARE (Financial Literacy and Advancement for Rio Grande Valley Equity)

Project Theme: Financial Literacy

Years in Existence: 2

Target Audience and Location: McAllen Memorial High School students and the wider Rio Grande Valley (RGV) community.

Mission: To advocate and cultivate financial literacy for teens by providing positive learning experiences.

Project Description: Founding student Scholar David Munoz and educator Aimee Nunez were passionate about empowering their community through financial literacy to break generational cycles of poverty. By hosting local events with partner community organizations, FLARE expands students’ understanding of what it means to be financially responsible. This year’s student leader, Kayli Perez-Ramirez, is working with her team to partner with their local bank and library to host their series of money conversations called Dinero Discussions, where students from RGV can participate in finance-related simulations. Kayli is most proud of “partnering with the Boys and Girls Club to host an event where FLARE will present programming that is age-appropriate for middle school students.”