Greetings Rotarians! Our speaker today was John Pelletier, the Director of the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy.  Mr. Pelletier’s organization has been conducting studies to determine how financially literate Vermonters are on average and how our schools prepare students to be financially aware. Like just about every state other than Utah, the studies have shown that Vermont is woefully inadequate when it comes to providing students with the background they need in order to make sound financial decisions like saving for retirement at an early age.  Mr. Pelletier compared the metrics used to measure financial literacy of the United States and of other nations as an illustration of just how far we as a country are behind the rest of the industrial world in this regard.  With these studies in mind, the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy has taken on the mission of increasing knowledge of money matters amongst students across Vermont and to ensure that college students graduate with the skills needed to make sound financial decisions in their daily lives. Currently the center is designed to develop financial literacy skills for people of all ages (ranging from kindergarten students to adults).  To date, the center has developed several programs to achieve these goals, including the Vermont Teachers Financial Literacy Summer Institute.  That particular program was developed in 2010 to increase the financial literacy and instructional capabilities of Vermont educators at the middle school and high school levels.  For more information about this organization, please visit http://www.champlain.edu/centers-of-excellence/center-for-financial-literacy

 

 

            This month’s theme is “New Generations Month”. One of the keys to building Rotary and keeping it strong is to encourage our younger generations to get involved with our Clubs at an early age.  That is why Rotary promotes programs like the Rotary Exchange, RYLA and Rotaract.  Each of these programs serves as means of not only connecting young adults with Rotary, but with their communities in general.  As a Club, we strive to connect with the young adults in our community by sponsoring them as Rotary Exchange students and by sending them to RYLA conferences.  We also plant the Rotary seed by granting scholarships to local high school students each year.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, September 24, 2014 – Ray Allaire will be presenting a full report on the 2014 Essex Rotary Corn Booth.

 

For the complete list of upcoming speakers and general information about the Club, please go to our website at www.essexrotary.org   Be sure to also visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-Club-of-Essex-Vermont/102267529834020

 

       Yours in Rotary,

 

Jason Ruwet