To honor the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr., the Society of Black Student Social Workers (SBSSW) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work will host the third annual “Financial Freedom Seminar: Achieving Economic Independence Through Education,” from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, in Brown Hall, Room 100.
The seminar, free and open to the public, is designed for St. Louis community youth and adults interested in building wealth, repairing and maintaining good credit, purchasing a home or starting and expanding a business.
“Financial planning is key during today’s economy,” said Jessica Bassett, first-year graduate student in social work and SBSSW member. “With tough economic times such as these, it is vital for every individual, not just African-Americans, to plan and prepare for the future by getting the hard and fast facts about borrowing, asset building and financial planning.
“That holds true for anyone, whether you’re retired, contemplating starting a family or going off to college,” Bassett said.
Tesheba Wadley, second-year graduate student in social work and SBSSW co-chair, said that the Financial Freedom Seminar is an important event to the Brown School as well as the St. Louis community.
“Through the seminar, the Brown School has an opportunity to reach out to African-Americans and other community members to let them know their needs are known and we want to work with them to address those needs.” Wadley said. “In turn, St. Louisans have the chance to explore the campus and interact with the University community in a meaningful way.”
Seminar participants will be able to choose two workshops from the following areas: Credit Education and Debt Freedom; Home Ownership; Smart Borrowing; Investing Your Money; and Asset Building. In addition, two youth workshops are being offered in Financial Planning and College Planning.
The seminar will begin with a keynote address by Eric Dickerson, founder and president of Eric Dickerson Associates. Dickerson’s company works with organizations and academic institutions to provide personal finance management training. The training program is education-based and is not affiliated with or supported by any investment or financial organizations.
Last year’s Financial Freedom Seminar was attended by nearly 200 members of the St. Louis community.
For more information and to register, visit gwbweb.wustl.edu/Events/Pages/FinancialFreedomSeminar.aspx, e-mail specialevents@gwbmail.wustl.edu or call 935-3466.
Breakfast and lunch will be provided.