Bank On Boston: Employing Teens to Become Financial Literacy Experts

This year, Bank On Boston was selected as an employer partner for futureBOS, the City's Summer Youth Employment Program. Through this partnership, Bank On Boston launched Young Money Mentors to employ 10 rising high school juniors and seniors this past Spring and Summer. The teens were paid to become personal finance experts and then share their knowledge with their peers and communities. Over 350 Boston youth applied for this opportunity, demonstrating a tremendous desire for financial literacy.

The Young Money Mentors' primary objectives were to:

• Gain in-depth knowledge of personal financial management.
• Develop a professional network and explore career pathways in the financial services field.
• Develop a personal finance workshop to share with high school-aged peers.
• Participate in advocacy activities promoting the required financial education curriculum for all Massachusetts high school students.

The program kicked off in April 2025 with a foundational financial literacy course. To ensure the Young Money Mentors gained personal finance expertise, they were paid to first participate in a 10-hour course led by Jason Andrade of Partnership for Financial Equity. They learned extensively about banking, budgeting, credit building, and personal investment. Following this, the Mentors attended community engagement events to share their new knowledge with other teens. Each Mentor was required to attend at least one peer engagement event, which mostly consisted of youth jobs and resource fairs. At these events, the Mentors shared information on the importance of having a bank account and how to identify the right one.

All 10 Mentors delivered the Basics of Banking workshop to a community they belong to, reaching more than 100 young people. This workshop was designed to inform their peers on the benefits of banking and understanding their paychecks.

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Following the successful completion of the spring portion of the program, the Young Money Mentors were employed by Bank On Boston in summer 2025. The Mentors focused on:

• Creating and facilitating Peer-to-Peer Financial Education Workshops.
• Advocating for Youth Financial Education to be required for all students in Massachusetts.
• Participating in College Readiness activities.
• Participating in Career Readiness activities.

For the Peer-to-Peer Financial Education Workshops. Each Mentor was responsible for selecting a personal finance topic relevant to other youth in Boston, becoming an expert on that topic, and then creating an interactive workshop to deliver to a group of their peers. The topics chosen by the Mentors ranged from The Dangers of Sports Betting to Investing in Cryptocurrency. After several weeks of painstaking research and preparation, the Young Money Mentors had the opportunity to partner with the City's Summer Learn and Earn Program to deliver their workshops to 120 high schoolers at Emmanuel College. The reception that the Mentors received from their peers was phenomenal. The Summer Learn and Earn participants were excited to have the opportunity to learn from others their own age, and the Mentors gained confidence in their skills and ability by having their peers see them as true experts on their subject matter.

In addition to direct peer education, the Young Money Mentors were tasked with advocating for comprehensive personal financial courses to be required for all high school students in Massachusetts. The Mentors wrote letters to their state-level representatives in enthusiastic support of requiring a personal finance curriculum for all youth in the state. The letters were truly moving, drawing on the personal experiences of young marginalized people from our community. The Mentors had the opportunity to visit the Massachusetts State House for several meetings with state legislative aides, where they gained more traction than anticipated. The Mentors are looking forward to the start of the next legislative cycle, hoping to play a part in the introduction of legislation requiring personal finance education for young people in the State. The Mentors also hand-delivered the letters to the Representatives' offices, and Mentor Jose even got the chance to sit at his State Representative's Desk.

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To ensure a well-rounded experience, Bank On Boston provided the Young Money Mentors with college-readiness opportunities, including an insightful workshop with Dr. Sasha Abby VanDerzee of Boston Saves on paying for college. Additionally, the Mentors went on four in-person tours of universities in the Boston area.

The Young Money Mentors had many opportunities to explore career pathways and expand their knowledge and professional network through a series of guest lectures and activities. These activities ranged from meetings with Controller Amina Scott from the City of Boston Planning Department, who graciously hosted them at City Hall, and taught them about working on a major finance team in the City, to spending a full day with Angel Burgado at the Santander Bank Corporate Headquarters on State Street, shadowing corporate finance professionals.

Many individuals and organizations contributed to the great success of this youth employment program, including:

• The Office of Workforce Development
• The Center for Working Families
• The Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity
• Summer Learn and Earn
• The Boston Tax Help Coalition
• Boston Saves
• Youth Options Unlimited Boston
• Jason Andrade and The Partnership for Financial Equity
• The Boston Private Industry Council
• Angel Burgado and Santander Bank
• Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund

This initiative was subsidized by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and students earned stipends from SuccessLink during the summer. The program was deeply impactful, and Bank On Boston looks forward to the ongoing opportunities to engage with youth in our community. Learn more about Bank On Boston at boston.gov/bank-on.

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