Recently Culver’s restaurant in Navarre announced sponsorship of a Dave Ramsey’s Foundations in Personal Finance Class for local students. Organizers also reached out to Holley-Navarre Middle School, which has since added a personal finance component to the middle school curriculum.
Culver’s local franchise owner Honey Smith and Navarre resident Michelle Abrams partnered to host the local finance classes for students in ninth grade through the age of 20. The classes start Thursday and run through August 9.
Those classes will take place from 9-11 a.m. at Culver’s meeting room, located at 8792 Navarre Parkway. A non-refundable cost is $25 covers the cost of materials, and registration is available at the restaurant.
“We love serving our guests…but what we love even more is serving our community,” said Smith.
According to Abrams, she and Smith also shared personal finance course information with administrators at Holley-Navarre Middle School, and subsequently some of the information will start being featuring in the curriculum.
HNMS Principal Joie DeStefano said she hopes adding a personal finance component to sixth and seventh grade critical thinking classes will not only help teach students learn about finance while increasing their reading vocabulary but also give them motivation to work harder.
“This booklet talks about credit, insurance and premiums and how much you can expect to earn when making an educational choice,” DeStefano said, pointing out that some students have “no concept of money whatsoever.”
DeStefano said she hopes it will help students realize that what they’re doing now “really counts” toward their future.
Abrams, who started the Navarre Weekend Food Program, which provides food for students in need, stated that she and her husband, Shane, have been leading Financial Peace classes for families since January.
“We saw the need to assist further in our community…for me, it is a natural progression from leading the Weekend Food Program to help try and stop some of the cycles we see throughout not only our community but through our nation,” Abrams said.
