Sammy Rabbit’s Dream Big Day Experience came to Wilkerson Elementary School in El Monte, CAab-wilkerson-sam-1., Tuesday, May 27th. The strategic program was delivered to two hundred third and fourth graders thanks to the El Monte Promise Foundation (EMPF). EMPF’s mission is to help prepare students at an early age for college.

The dynamic and interactive educational experience included:

1. A read aloud of Sammy’s Big Dream by children’s author and award winning financial educator Sam X Renick.

2. Student interaction with EMPF project manager Christina Davila and community volunteers. The community leaders shared:

  • their big dreams from childhood
  • information on their careers and job responsibilities
  • definitions of key money vocabulary
  • tips on the students big dreams
  • guidance on the importance of going to and graduating from college
  • reasons why students should immediately get in the habit of saving money.

The community leaders also assisted Sammy Rabbit in singing his signature song Get in the Habit with students.

The toe tapping tune teaches listeners several powerful lessons on great money habits:

  • get in the habit of saving money – from every dollar save a dime
  • if you do, you can watch your savings grow and grow
  • you “can do it” (save), so get to it.

3. Students sharing their big dreams.

4. A review of Sammy’s 12 steps to make big dreams come true.

5. Students receiving resources to keep learning, including Sammy Rabbit’s Big Dream Workbook.

“I loved seeing the energy the students had, especially during the book reading and when Sammy Rabbit came out on stage,” said Davila. “We are thankful for the volunteers that came to interact with our youth. It is important for them to see role models on a consistent basis.”

Wilkerson Elementary School is a part of the El Monte City School District and is under the leadership of principal Juan Munoz. It was recently honored as a Title 1 Achievement School as designated by the California Department of Education.

The El Monte Promise Foundation was founded in 2012 with the support of the California Community Foundation. The vision of the organization is to bring together community assets to support its children reaching their full potential including going to college. To achieve this objective the Foundation established the Save for College Scholars Savings Program. The Scholars Savings Program gives parents in El Monte an opportunity to become engaged in their children’s pursuit of higher education. It provides an avenue for families to open a 529 college savings account and earn additional scholarship dollars with each monthly deposit. 529 college savings account are administered by the Utah Educational Savings Program (UESP). UESP is one of the best college savings programs in the United States and is open to everyone in the nation. UESP invests in a combination of Vanguard and Dimensional funds, the Public Treasurers’ Investment Fund, and the FDIC-insured accounts held in trust at Sallie Mae Bank and U.S. Bank.

KEEP LEARNING: FREE RESOURCES
Big Ol’ Dream Activity Book (download)
Dream Big Resource Center

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