An annual financial literacy event for Grade 9 students in Moose Jaw is coming back on Nov. 20, and the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce is looking for volunteers.
Heather Bergdahl, office administrator with the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce, said the ‘Reality Check’ event is geared at giving students a glimpse at household budgeting.
“They are given an imaginary occupation, an imaginary family, and they have to go through different booths in the event to spend their monthly budget,” she explained.
Bergdahl said students go to around 15 booths. “They’ll experience having housing, having transportation, buying insurance, getting groceries – all those types of things.”
Approximately 60 volunteers are needed to help. “They will be given instructions, so there’s nothing hard for them to learn prior to – everything is laid out clearly for them at the event.”
Volunteers would need to show up half an hour before their shift for orientation, with groups of students coming through from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Saskatchewan Polytechnic gymnasium.
While people are welcome to volunteer the entire day, Bergdahl said that people can commit to just the morning or just the afternoon.
The Chamber is also looking for monetary donations from local businesses for the event, with a $150 donation having them recognized as an event participant.
“We do have some costs for printing materials, and we do like to give all the students a little treat afterwords, and we want to be able to provide an RESP bursary for some lucky students that actually partake in the event.”
Anyone interested in volunteering or making a monetary contribution can reach out to the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce at 306-692-6414, or email heather@mjchamber.com