Partners In Patriotism Fund Helps FHS Bring Credit To Life Fair To Class Of 2016

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – For three hours on Wednesday, Feb. 24, the 229-student senior class at Foxborough High School took a collective snapshot in time upon entering Showcase Live at Patriot Place for the school’s inaugural Credit for Life Fair, thanks in part to the support received by the Partners in Patriotism Fund through a $1,500 grant for the program.

“The exercise puts students in financial situations they will face five years out of college,” said Ellen Pillsbury, career specialist at Foxborough High School. “It’s a really important day for the students to have and is really imperative that they get this kind of hands-on experience before going off to college.”

While Foxborough High School has participated in Credit for Life Fair programs as part of a career partnership with Attleboro Public Schools in the past, this is the school’s first year organizing the event on its own.

“I couldn’t have done this without the support of the Partners in Patriotism Fund,” said Pillsbury. “I was so thrilled when we got the grant and greatly appreciated the support. We have been planning this for months and made sure the students were aware of the support they received from the Kraft Group and local business community in order to participate in this program.”

The Foxborough High seniors were each assigned an occupation and a financial situation that they had to manage as they navigated through more than 30 booths comprised of approximately 60 volunteers from the business community, including bankers, financial advisors and community service professionals. Wednesday’s program brought many financial situations to life, teaching students critical financial skills like savings, spending and budgeting.

During the first hour of the fair, organizers saw a long line of students waiting to be assigned jobs and decided to throw the senior class its first major curveball.

“Once the line for jobs grew long, the fair’s organizers announced a recession,” Pillsbury said with a laugh. “All of the kids were standing in line puzzled and many were saying, ‘What? I need a job!’ There were no jobs available for them until the recession ended.”

Other scenarios included a “Wheel of Doom” at the Life Booth, where students spun the wheel to determine a financial outcome, ranging from sizeable tax refunds to sudden financial loss through varying disasters.

“While the wheel can benefit a student’s financial situation, it more often than not teaches a valuable lesson in the importance of purchasing financial protection like insurance,” Pillsbury said. “If a student spun the wheel without buying insurance and something bad happens to their property, they have to pay for it out of their pocket.”

For FHS senior Ravmyr Fede, Wednesday’s fair was an eye-opening experience.

“I’m learning that there is so much more ahead after college that I hadn’t thought about before,” he said. “It’s not as simple as graduating from college and making money. This fair definitely prepares you for everything you need to know. I think every kid should be doing this.”

FHS senior Sarah Spillane said she appreciated the real-world situations the fair presented.

“We don’t do a lot of budgeting in school or looking ahead at what our future is going to be like after college,” she said. “This gives us a chance to do that and see what life is going to be like when we’re not relying on our parents at home. I think this is a really good chance for us to look at the future and think about what we’re going to be doing with our money and how we are going to be budgeting out our lives.”

FHS senior Abby Spare, who was assigned the occupational role of an actress, found the fair helpful because it gave her a glimpse into what her cost of living would be.

“Some of the more important lessons I’ve learned from this fair is understanding what it actually costs to buy things I want like clothes and luxury items,” she said. “One of the things I wanted was a computer, but I knew I couldn’t afford it under my budget.

“I think this is really helpful because it gives us a taste of the real world. Some students do have part-time jobs, so they are learning to manage their own money, but for a lot of students, they don’t have this real-world experience, so this is really helpful.”

Those responses from students reaffirmed the value of the program, which put a smile on Pillsbury’s face.

“My goal for students participating in this program was to have them stop and think about how they’re going to invest their money and save their money and what it costs to live on their own in today’s world because it’s very expensive,” Pillsbury said. “The choices they make; some of these are, ‘Well, if I get this, then I can’t have this.’ If they get that out of today then we’ve done very well.”

ABOUT THE PARTNERS IN PATRIOTISM FUND

The Partners in Patriotism Fund is a registered nonprofit organization established by the Kraft family in 2014. The Fund is dedicated to supporting Foxborough philanthropic and community efforts through monetary donations of up to $100,000 annually. A Grants Committee, comprised of Foxborough residents, is appointed to vet grant applications and determine allocation of funds. The Fund assists residents of Foxborough through the support of charitable endeavors, as well as through personal financial assistance for those who have experienced sudden loss or find themselves in emergency situations.

For grant applications or more information about the Partners in Patriotism Fund, please click here or find the PIP Fund on Facebook at “Partners in Patriotism Fund.”