The Arkansas River Valley Area Council (ARVAC), in partnership with Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus, has been awarded a Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) to provide a series of “financial boot camps” for students living at or below the poverty line.
The Arkansas River Valley Area Council (ARVAC), in partnership with Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus, has been awarded a Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) to provide a series of “financial boot camps” for students living at or below the poverty line.
Totaling $6,000, the discretionary funds were awarded by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS), having been approved in October.
The workshops, which will be held November through June, will be administered through the Career Pathways Initiative (CPI), a program at Arkansas Tech-Ozark aimed at assisting low-income parents in meeting their educational and career training goals.
The series will provide CPI students with tools on how to become fiscally responsible, self-sufficient and well educate about financial matters.
ARVAC Executive Director Bob L. Adkison said the CSBG discretionary funds are a “positive investment toward career enhancement” for Arkansas Tech-Ozark students.
“ARVAC, as the CSBG agency, is pleased to partner with ATU-Ozark in behalf of the students and workforce community,” he said.
CPI Director Jessica Birchler said, “Simply put, this could change lives. By offering students the tools to be successful and the knowledge to implement those tools, we foster an environment of positive change that has the potential to been seen for generations.”
Guest presenters will come to Arkansas Tech-Ozark and give workshop on topics that assist students in making wise economic decisions for themselves and their families, such as “Creating a Budget and Sticking to It,” “How to Feed a Family of Four on Four Dollars,” “You Know You Will Have to Repay Those Loans, Don’t You?” and “Do I Really Need Insurance?”
The CSBG funds will cover supplies for participants, such as resource binders, calculators and materials; travel costs for speakers; and refreshments.
For more information about CPI, visit atu.edu/ozar/cpi.
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