Page 19 - BusinessWest May 12, 2025

These days, that program has
morphed into Money School, a series
of financial-literacy resources in public
schools that include books, workshops,
and five annual Credit for Life fairs that
involve about 2,000 seniors from 13 dif-
ferent high schools.
The fair, a Massachusetts-based
program that many banks participate
in, asks students to role-play a 25-year-
old, visiting about a dozen booths and
making financial choices based on their
career and salary goals.
“Some students get a salary or a
credit score they weren’t expecting, and
they also learn to understand needs
versus wants,” Gerulaitis said, adding
that the students also get a dose of
reality; at one booth, they might get
a bonus at work or an unexpected
expense. “Do they want to take vaca-
tions? Is that important to them? Do
they want to own a pet? These are
choices you and I make every day, and
we’re bringing it to the students.
“The students who wind up with a
low credit score or a low salary and
are struggling, they’re going to learn
the most,” she added. “They see how
difficult it is to get where they want
to go. Can they afford a house, or do
they need a roommate to split expens-
es? It’s a really eye-opening experi-
ence, and they need to experience
this stuff now, so they don’t make bad
choices later.”
Two years ago, the United Way
of Pioneer Valley started partnering
with middle- and high-school students
in Springfield and Holyoke to teach
basic financial-literacy skills to young
adults before they start interacting
with finances for real, President and
CEO Megan Moynihan said.
“We want them to create a basis to
be financially successful before they
go out into the real world,” she noted.
“Many of these students may not have
access to learning about financial
independence through their families.
They didn’t learn about the impor-
tance of saving and credit and prepar-
ing a budget as a child. Some of the
students we work with have zero idea
going into these classes. The goal is
to give them a basis, a skill set to pre-
pare them for the real world.”
The United Way’s financial-
literacy programs go well beyond
young people; it launched an initia-
tive called Thrive almost a decade
ago, which helps individuals across
all age groups achieve financial secu-
rity through education and other
resources.
“Personal financial education is
huge — it’s a huge gap for so many
individuals,” Moynihan said, noting
that the partner agencies the United
Way funded would refer to Thrive
people who needed the service.
“Our partner agencies let us know
about individuals who needed sup-
port. We would do one-on-one coach-
ing with those individuals, typically
follow them for an entire year, help-
ing them with budgeting, helping
“It’s so very important — if you don’t
understand how to take care of yourself
from a financial perspective, how can you
become successful?”
MEGAN MOYNIHAN
them set goals for raising their credit
score. Many did not even have bank
accounts, so we brought in individuals
from the banks to set up simple check-
ing accounts, direct deposit, and credit
cards to create credit. Others would
learn how to fix their credit score, how
to consolidate credit, the importance of
reducing expenses, and more.”
Around 2020, the United Way
switched to a more direct-service
model, and now Thrive services are
offered to any client of the nonprofit
who needs them, typically people who
access services from one of the United
Way’s service centers in Springfield,
Chicopee, and Holyoke.
“Individuals come in needing help
with food insecurity or mental-health
support, and we can also help them
with personal-finance training; every
individual who comes through our
doors has access to Thrive financial
education,” Moynihan explained. “We
also partner with other nonprofits on a
Your business
is personal.
Your banking
should be too.
UMassFive worked
with us to develop a
0% interest bike loan,
which has made it
possible for folks that
maybe didn’t have that
kind of money to spend
to be able to afford our
electric bikes. It works
for the consumer, it
works for us as a small
business, and it works
for UMassFive.”
At UMassFive, we understand that your business is
more than just margins and spreadsheets–it’s an
extension of you. Your vision. Your goals. Your potential.
That’s why we look beyond the bottom line to learn
what makes your business tick, and provide expert
guidance every step of the way toward what’s possible.
UMassFive: It’s all about you.
Bob Nuttelman, Florence, MA
Owner, Quadrini Electric Bikes
umassfive.coop/business
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