Learning Opportunities this Fall – Free Financial Planning and Overcoming Cultural Barriers
Article by Jared Hanks
Financial wellness and cultural differences – two things that are often recognized and valued in our society, but also two things we rarely discuss with our local communities. Seward, known for being a diverse and progressive neighborhood, has a wide range of diversity in regards to its cultures, sub-communities, businesses, and socioeconomic divisions.
From Seward Community Co-op customers, to Seward Towers’ tenants, to Milwaukee Avenue’s homeowners; Seward community members of all backgrounds are invited to collaborate in two inspiring community education initiatives.
First, the Financial Planning Association of Minnesota (FPA) and the city of St. Paul are offering a FREE Twin Cities Financial Planning Day on October 5th, 10:00am – 2:00pm at the Amherst Wilder Foundation. The event will offer workshops, a resource fair, as well as individual financial advising sessions with Certified Financial Planner professionals from the FPA. The event will be hosted by KSTP’s Joe Schmit, who will be giving a keynote address at 10am. For more details, follow this link .
The second opportunity is being offered by the Seward Neighborhood Group (SNG) and Twin Cities Media Alliance (TCMA). These two organizations are teaming up to launch a project called Breaking Walls and Building Bridges. This collaborative project is a four-week discussion based group that engages in cultural conversations over food. Although Seward has a widely diverse population, it is important for us to acknowledge cultural barriers (walls) between African-born and other community members that persist. Meetings will have a guided cultural theme in which participants can share personal stories, highlight different traditions, enjoy cultural dishes, and identify present and potential cultural barriers stifling the process of growth and community-wide engagement in Seward. The groups will meet on Tuesday evenings from 6:00pm – 7:30pm from September through October. For more information, please contact any one of the planning team members:
Bruce Johansen: bruce.johansen@gmail.com
Lolla Mohammed Nur: lolla@tcdailyplanet.net
Kerry Cashman: kerry@sng.org
Nasra Noor: nasra@sng.org
Sheldon Mains: smains@visi.com
Tariku Belay: tariku.belay@hotmail.com
Please feel encouraged to take advantage of these informative, free, and community building opportunities. We can never be too financially and culturally literate. Hope to see you there!
