By Nancy Bowman
Financial decisions can take a little homework, even if they involve spending someone else’s money.
Participants in this year’s Tipp City Teen Leadership program received a closer look at finances in two areas of decision making earlier this month.
Their first challenge was participating in a poverty simulation followed by reviewing real grant requests from area organizations and agencies and deciding how to best spend $5,000 provided by the Tipp City Foundation.
The leadership program is held each June by the Tipp City Area Chamber of Commerce. Those selected for the program are heading into their senior year of high school.
This year’s Leadership participants were Emma Davis, Allie Garlitz, Colby Keiser, Isabella Ramos, Connor Sexton, Connor Snider and Hannah Wildermuth. All of the students are from Tippecanoe High School except Keiser, who attends Bethel High School.
Richard Bender and Jackie Wahl, both foundation board members were among those coordinating this year’s Youth Philanthropy Day.
“I believe the day is important in several ways. It shows the teens a side to life that I assume they've not experienced when it comes to financial issues.” Wahl said. “It also helps them to understand that worthwhile programs/efforts are happening in our community, but the funding is limited and, finally, just how difficult it can be to decide who gets support and how much.”
Wahl and Jim Ranft, chairman of the foundation’s distribution committee, led the students as they reviewed the grant applications, explaining some of the rationale employed by the Foundation’s Distribution Committee and guiding students as they looked at requests.
Considerations included the number of people in the Tipp City area community impacted by a program or project and if that program would meet a need – for example food - versus a want – an item that might enhance something but not necessarily fulfill a need.
The students were familiar with some of the applying agencies including two who had volunteered with Community Services’ Lunch on Us program. Both commented on the experience as fulfilling.
Requested and in the end not filled was a request by a countywide agency seeking funding for a program not offered in the Tipp City area.
The grant recipients of up to $500 were Bethel Hope, Brukner Nature Center, CASA/GAL of Miami County, Dream Builders / Clubhouse, Give Medical Ministry, Needy Basket, Tipp STEM Education and Tipp Monroe Community Services’ Lunch on Us and Community Relief programs. The grants were presented to recipients later in the leadership program week.
Bender led the life skills poverty exercise using a program in which the team was told how much money was available to them and then asked to make decisions on spending it. Among areas of decisions required were how close they would live to their work, transportation, food bills, medical expenses, insurance and meeting family member needs and what to exclude if an emergency arose.
Bender, CFO of the Miami County United Way, talked with students about agencies the United Way supports and some of the services they could provide to people having difficulty making ends meet.
There are people who make poor choices and have bad luck. In addition, at times bad things happen to good people, Bender said.
Following the poverty exercise, one student observed, “All of us were dealt a pretty good hand.”