Posted on: Friday, May 27, 2005

ISLAND VOICES

By Cheryl L. Ka'uhane Lupenui

Girls need to develop a knowledgeable, confident relationship with money, including becoming media savvy and being proactive in career and life goals. Why is this important, especially for girls? Consider the statistics:

• Ninety percent of all women will have to take care of themselves financially at some point in their lives.

• More young women filed for bankruptcy than graduated from college in 2001.

• A woman working full-time in Hawai'i makes about 84 cents for every dollar a man earns.

• Young women who make a successful transition into the labor force have a greatly reduced risk of becoming dependent on public assistance when they become adults.

Fortunately, several of Hawai'i's organizations have dedicated themselves to developing programs and steering the dialogue in ways that help ensure each generation of women is prepared to shape the world in which we live.

One such program last month presented by Sacred Hearts Academy and the National Coalition of Girls' School was Learn Money $ense, a financial literacy conference.

"The difference between fantasy and the realization of a dream is having the financial skills to make the fantasy come to life," according to Joline Godfrey, president and founder of Independent Means Inc. and author of "Raising Financially Fit Kids."

Godfrey spoke to parents, students and educators from more than 30 public and private schools who attended and addressed ways to be smart about money: learn about it, earn it, manage it, save it and give it.

This conference offered more than just a lecture about the importance of taking control of our financial futures. Specific messages were targeted in separate breakout sessions for parents, students and teachers statewide. Girls were treated to stimulating and age-appropriate activities while parents received valuable insights and strategies. Presented with books, materials and strategies, teachers learned how to incorporate financial education into a liberal arts curriculum.

The YWCA of O'ahu was a natural participant given our focus on economic empowerment for women and girls. One of Independent Means' most successful programs is Camp$tart Up, an entrepreneurial summer program for teen women offered throughout the country.

This summer, the YWCA is hosting its third Camp$tart Up program at Kokokahi on Kane'ohe Bay Drive from July 24 to Aug. 1. Camp$tart Up's motto is "Business Isn't Spinach" because our approach is creative, sometimes messy, unpredictable and fun. Thus, girls learn "outside of the classroom" through hands-on exercises, discussions with women entrepreneurs, a field trip to a woman-owned business and presentation of their business plan at the end of the program.

This is just one program that is part of Joline's DollarDiva World designed to help young women get an early start on their own journey for financial independence.

It will take a collaborative effort on behalf of women and men, business leaders, advocates and educators to create a healthy relationship with money. This is especially true when we find that sex and politics find their way into conversations more than the topic of money, which continues to be considered a societal taboo.

Through partnerships such as Sacred Hearts Academy, the National Coalition of Girls' Schools, Independent Means Inc. and the YWCA of O'ahu, we are having the conversation and teaching girls good money skills in order to develop the foundation for success in business, community and life.

Cheryl L. Ka'uhane Lupenui is president and CEO of YWCA of O'ahu. She wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.