TOWNSHEND, Vt. – Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s Pipelines and Pathways Program has partnered with Leland & Gray High School to host the third annual Reality Fair on Thursday, Oct. 3. The Reality Fair is an interactive, hands-on experience that covers financial literacy and practical life skills all students need to confidently take their first steps into the adult world. Over 250 juniors and seniors from Windham County schools will participate in the event.
The Reality Fair includes two separate experiences. The Financial Literacy Experience is similar to The Game of Life. In the Financial Literacy Experience, students are assigned a job that exists in Windham County and matches their career interests. Students are “paid” one month’s net earnings, which they will use to purchase all of life’s needs, such as transportation and housing. With help from financial advisors from local banking institutions, students will learn to balance their needs with their “wants,” like pets, vacations, and dining out. Budgets will inevitably be thrown off by a few spins of the Reality Wheel, where they might get a speeding ticket or get a late fee on a credit card payment. Students who complete the assignment with at least $1 left at the end of the month will be entered into raffles with prizes from local businesses.
An “Adulting-101” or Practical Life Skills Experience will round out the day’s events. Students will learn key skills all adults wish they had been taught at 18 years old, such as basic home repair, cooking, tire changing, tie tying, and more. Over 80 volunteers from local businesses, colleges, and nonprofits will participate in this fun-filled, community-building event.