Girls Inc. of Carpinteria is cheering the progress of its pilot program, ¡Listos! Smart & Ready, and has plans for expansion as the program enters its second year this fall.
Designed to promote financial stability and literacy among participating families, ¡Listos! has made an impact in its inaugural year, providing support and education to the community.
Started in response to the financial challenges faced by local families, and exacerbated by the pandemic, ¡Listos! Smart & Ready has given parents key financial skills through bilingual financial literacy classes.
Topics covered include budgeting, saving and investing.
In its first year, the program provided scholarship assistance to 33 families. Feedback from participants has been positive, highlighting significant improvements in families’ financial well-being, Girls Inc. of Carpinteria said.
The ¡Listos! program participants enjoyed no-cost, out-of-school enrichment activities during the 2023-24 school year.
“The ¡Listos! program has helped my family financially and has relieved some of our financial burden. It has also encouraged us to save and has helped me plan for the future,” one parent said. “I am now considering my daughter’s college education and my own retirement.”
A highlight of ¡Listos! has been Girls Inc.’s matching incentive. Nearly $300 was distributed back to each of the 33 participating families, totaling $10,000 in matched savings, encouraging and rewarding responsible financial practices.
The demand for ¡Listos! has inspired Girls Inc. of Carpinteria to expand its efforts. The organization aims to secure sufficient funding to transition from a fee-based model to a sliding-scale scholarship model, ensuring that the Strong, Smart, and Bold programming is accessible and equitable for all girls.
For fiscal year 2024, Girls Inc. of Carpinteria aims to raise $300,000 to provide comprehensive scholarships to all eligible families seeking financial assistance.
Those interested in supporting Girls Inc. of Carpinteria’s expansion and funding goals for ¡Listos!, can visit https://girlsinc-carp.org/.