Solid Ground’s Financial Fitness Boot Camp (FFBC) relaunches this month with much anticipation!

“This Boot Camp is financial management education shared with clients in a workshop setting,” says Interim Supportive Services Manager Celestine Berrysmith in Solid Ground’s Stabilization Services department. Participants will attend a series of four, two-hour long workshops over four to eight weeks that guides them towards a healthier financial future.

The Four-part Workshop series:

• Budgeting:
  • How to Create & Maintain A Budget

• Credit Repair:
  • How to Read Your Credit Report
  • Predatory Loans/The Dispute Process
• Banking:
  • Bankruptcy Education/All About Garnishments
  • Reconciling Statement & Budget
• Goal Setting:
  • Setting Financial Goals/Vision Boarding
  • Certificate of Completion!

Though Solid Ground offered FFBC in past years, this relaunch brings a refreshed and newly formulated approach. The basis of the program is the FDIC Money Smart Financial Education for Adults. This relaunch is designed to be highly relevant to the low income community, but with updated information that’s been reformatted into a workshop series. Participants receive a Certificate of Completion at the end of the program.

FFBC will be available to anyone in the community.  Noel Lerner, FFBC/Tenant Counselor reflects, “the communities I observe seeking this information run the entire gamut from the homeless to the stably housed.”

It seems to Celestine that this program is relaunching at a critical time in our community. “When you look at this economy, people in marginalized populations don’t have enough access to this type of knowledge.”

Dates and locations for the workshops are in progress, but Celestine shares good news. “We are talking to community partners and plan to schedule locations throughout King County as well as the Solid Ground headquarters building.”

The excitement for the relaunch is mutual for Celestine and Noel, particularly the opportunity to connect with participants. “I learn something from every single workshop and person that I encounter,” says Celestine.  In her own experience, Noel recounts a common occurrence: “I find that I can walk into a room and say, ‘Budgets are cool,’ and people begin to believe it.”  This type of energy drives the learning experience for the participants.

Next Friday, August 17, 11am – 2pm, all are invited to share in that energy at Solid Ground’s FFBC Relaunch. Located in the Cheryl Cobbs Murphy Room on the ground floor, there will be a brief presentation, light refreshments, prizes and giveaways. The FFBC relaunch offers everyone the opportunity to learn financial management skills and grow in their confidence to set and stick to their goals.

RSVP/Questions? Contact Noel Lerner at noel@solid-ground.org or 206.694.6765 or Celestine Berrysmith at celestineb@solid-ground.org or 206.694.6808.

Feature image at top (l to r): Noel Lerner and Celestine Berrysmith prepare for the Financial Fitness Boot Camp Relaunch.