Students at Clayton Heights Secondary School have been learning about personal finances and how the decisions they make about money impact their lives and the world around them.
Developed in collaboration with the Royal Bank (RBC) and Free the Children, It All Adds Up is an educational resource thats helps students learn to make smart personal financial decisions around budgeting, while at the same time, helping others.
Students were able to apply practical everyday issues to understand the math, literacy and empathy concepts learned in class.
The Grade 10 students were given a budget of $500, with a task of making lunches for the homeless in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.
By sourcing the lowest prices for each item, the students then worked together, using the Canada Health Guide to provide the healthiest lunch for the lowest cost, eventually making lunches for more than 500 people.
“It feels so good to help people, said Grade 11 student Aisha Parkes, who participated in the project last year. "And I learned a lot about planning for your future.”
The Government of Canada’s Financial Literacy Leader Jane Rooney – who was at the school last week to learn about the project – was also impressed with the program.
“What these students have done for themselves and their community is a wonderful example of the benefits of strengthening the financial literacy of young people,” she said.