Teaching Kids Financial Literacy is Cheyenne non-profit's goal
Funding The Future, a Cheyenne-based non-profit, has attracted media attention from the Wall Street Journal to the Denver Post and many others because of it's goal--to help break the cycle of poverty by teaching kids financial lessons through rock music. "Music makes the medicine go down," says Michele DeHoff, a bank VP who is on the non-profit's board. She is referring to the fact that to get kid's attention, you have to wrap the message in something like rock music.
That's where Funding the Future's Executive Director, Rita Pouppirt, comes in. She and her husband Rande, a local architect, discovered a rock band called "Gooding," named after its founder who Rita says is probably one of the top 20 guitarists in the world today. "They were fabulous," she says, "and we knew kids would be attracted to their music.
Attracted they were, and almost 20,000 kids thus far have been reached by the message through assemblies at their schools. The message of how to manage your finances is reinforced through materials the band and FTF leave with teachers, helping spread this critical message for kids. Funding is a constant concern for the group, and more information on sponsorships can be had by contacting Rita or Michele by going to www.fundingthefuturelive.org.
