Fidelity employees gather for a photo at their Merrimack headquarters during the company’s Financial Literacy Day on April 29. (Courtesy of Fidelity)
During Fidelity’s Financial Literacy Day at their Merrimack headquarters, employee Deb DiMarzio told teens from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Manchester that financial literacy is more than just learning how to save money. In fact, their education may already be under way.
To drive home the point, DiMarzio, vice president of FIA operational controls and business readiness at Fidelity Investments, mentioned how buying shoes supports the economy.
“If you buy a pair of Nikes, if they’re really popular, that helps the company do well. So every time you buy something, you’re probably helping somebody who owns a piece of that company make money,” DiMarzio told the students.
The educational initiative was held April 29 in recognition of Financial Literacy Month. The day included lunch, a tour of the site, a flash card activity, and a career panel with associates, including some who are former members of the Boys & Girls Clubs. The event introduced topics like credit, investing, having a mortgage, savings and checking accounts, and “rainy day” funds, and emphasized themes of financial empowerment.
DiMarzio says letting students talk openly about money is vital because that knowledge can be passed on to others, lessening the stigma around the subject.
”Once you start chipping away at that, I think it opens the door,” says DiMarzio.
Providing financial education to those in the community who need it is a big part of Fidelity’s values, she says.
“Financial literacy is a critical one for us. So we just built a purposeful program around it, and it’s evolved from there in ways I never could have dreamed,” says DiMarzio.
Doro Koita, a former member of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Manchester, became a Fidelity employee after joining its paid internship program in its first year.
Koita, now a Fidelity annuity new business specialist, was part of the career panel and told students about his experiences with the club, which he joined as a freshman in 2016.
Koita says the nationwide nonprofit was a vital resource for him and a welcoming place to hang with friends, get homework done and play basketball. It was also where Koita learned about Fidelity’s six-week paid fellowship program. Then, after meeting with DiMarzio and others at Fidelity, Koita decided to give it a try.
Koita says although he took accounting classes, before joining Fidelity, his financial literacy skills needed some help. But Fidelity had his back.
“Starting off, people were definitely willing to teach me things and be there for me if I needed help with anything. So that, for sure, definitely made me more confident and willing to learn,” Koita says.
Now he says he can share his financial literacy skills and success stories with others.
“From here, I bought my first car on my own,” Koita says.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Manchester Teen Assistant Director Alexandra Ismail joined when she was 6, and started working there at 15. Ismail says they offered her structure and stability, something that wasn’t available in her home life. Ismail says the club became “my rock and my family,” and now she wants to pass on what she’s learned.
“I want to do the same thing for the kids now, for future generations to come,” Ismail says.
Teen director Elvin Barbosa first learned financial literacy on his own, building his knowledge through what others taught him.
“I just thought money was just so important. So I started budgeting my own way and how I would handle bills. Now I’m more understanding of where my money’s going,” Barbosa says.
Barbosa says kids curious about money should ask themselves a few simple questions.
“I would probably say, ‘Where is your money going?’ Essentially understanding, ‘hey, if you’re gonna buy something, or you want to get something, or money’s coming out of your bank,’ you want to understand where it’s coming from or where it’s going,” Barbosa says.
Though it might seem like a tough subject to talk about, Ismail says the students are eager and ready to learn.
“It’s nice that the kids have these opportunities, because they want to grow and they want to know more. A lot of our kids, they do come from circumstances where their parents don’t know a lot about financial literacy. They might not get that from their friends or the environment they’re around. They take these opportunities every time they can. But they also want a great future as well,” says Ismail.
Barbosa says before joining the club, he considered himself a “nomad.”
“I worked at Harvey’s. I worked at a cleaning company. I dropped out of high school; got my GED. I had no idea what I wanted to do,” he says. But once he joined the club, his perspective on life changed and he discovered the value of not giving up on yourself.
“You can be at a place at your lowest, but that’s not your angle. A lot of these kids didn’t know what this field trip was about. I would have to remind them, ‘hey, it’s an opportunity.’ If I don’t tell them how important this opportunity is, will someone else?”
