“The time to teach business principles like saving, and patience, is when they are young”
It seems that in our present society, financial literacy isn’t making its way into the curriculum in public schools as much as it probably should. While some schools offer courses that touch on certain smart spending budget ideas, the fact is that not many of today’s kids know much about savings or checking accounts or even how to balance their bank accounts.
Boca Raton teenager Shayna Schulman, a sophomore at Spanish River High School, has taken it upon herself to change the way that students of all ages look at financial planning. Financial literacy has been Shayna’s focus for quite a while now, and the Boca Raton teen has taken great strides in order to teach others about the rewards of being financially in the know.
How Did She Do All This?
Shayna wrote a 16-page children’s book titled “Dylan and Peggy the Piggy Bank,” about a girl who saved up all her spare change in order to buy herself a bicycle, instead of spending her money on things that would grant her instant gratification or things that are impulsive. By writing the book, Shayna was able to put the focus on how important it is to save money for things you need, rather than frivolous things you would want. The inspiration behind her idea came from her mother, who at a very young age started saving money to purchase her own vehicle.
But Shayna didn’t stop at just writing a book, she actually prepared a course, if you will, around the teachings of the book. With the help of a fellow classmate who illustrated the book, the dynamic duo prepared a presentation geared toward younger students in which they read the book, play an interactive money game and then donate personalized piggy banks to children in the class.
Shayna began saving immediately in order to further her entrepreneurial enterprise, however, it wasn’t long before local business’ decided to step in and help, 21 local business’ that is. “Her project is right in line with what we teach about character and leadership,” said Grand Master Cheong Park, from Park’s Tae Kwon Do.
Through her hard work and dedication, Shayna, and her partners were able to raise over $1,500 to print 500 copies of her book. She has started a GoFundMe to help raise more money as well. Her initial goal is at $5,000 dollars and in the past month she has already raised $245!
The teenager has already made an impact in the local community, donating 430 books to elementary schools in the area. Shayna hopes to bring her project statewide in the coming year!
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