The Florence County Library System was recently selected to receive the Southeastern Library Association's "Outstanding Southeastern Library Program Award" for its financial literacy program, "Money Madness Teen Lock-In." This program, which was hosted in May, was made possible by a grant from Smart investing@your library®, a partnership between the American Library Association and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. Funds for this grant were administered by the Friends of the Florence County Library.The "Money Madness Teen Lock-In" was an overwhelming success, with 189 teens from across Florence County attending. This broke the standing record for teens attending a library program in South Carolina. "The success of this program was due largely in part to our strong partnership with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, the enthusiastic support of area schools, and the dedication of our Children's and Teen Librarians," commented Project Manager, Aubrey Carroll.
Teens who attended the after-hours program participated in financial literacy-themed games, crafts, and a mock quiz show competition. Goals of the program included encouraging teens to make smarter financial decisions by avoiding credit card debt and creating a personal budget. Surveys completed during the program indicated that over ninety-five percent of all participating teens learned at least two financial concepts as a result of the planned activities. Follow-up surveys conducted thirty days after the program reported that over fifty percent of all attendees were still engaged in smarter financial decisions directly as a result of attending the programming.
For more information, please contact: Ray McBride, Library Director at RMcBride@florencelibrary.org or 843-413-7077.
