MemphisDEBT.org - Education

Financial Education Events and Programs

Center for Economic Education
The University of Memphis Department of Economics has established a Center for Economic Education.

The center's focus is improving economic literacy in Memphis and the Mid-South. The center currently offers workshops for school teachers to sharpen their skills at teaching economic and business lessons.

For more information about the center, contact Dr. Julie Heath at 901-678-2785 or jheath@memphis.edu. You can also access the center's website at econedcenter.org.

Debt Education Bankruptcy Training Simulation
Developed by the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service, Debt Education Bankruptcy Training Simulation (DEBTS) is an interactive way to help communities learn about the bankruptcy process. Professionals and volunteers — including money management counselors, Chapter 13 Trustees, community resource personnel, educators, family counselors, extension agents, ministers and lay leaders — have found that DEBTS enriches their capacity to serve bankruptcy clients. Participants in the simulation are assigned family scenarios based on actual cases. As families move through the phases of simulation, they must make a series of financial and personal decisions similar to those real families face when considering or choosing bankruptcy as an option. DEBTS is facilitated by volunteers who represent agencies and organizations that must be dealt with in the bankruptcy process. The simulation is designed for a minimum of 25 and maximum of 75 participants and lasts approximately three hours.

For more information about scheduling a simulation, call Cathy Faust, UT Family and Consumer Sciences Service Agent, at 544-0243.

Helping at the University
The Financial Information and Resource Center offers free financial counseling and information related to personal finances to students, faculty and staff at the University of Memphis.

The center is located in Wilder Tower and will be open every Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m. for six weeks each semester. Please call 507-6638 to hear the dates for this semester.

The center is an initiative of the university's Center for Economic Education and the MemphisDEBT collaborative.

Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement of Memphis educates young students to value free enterprise, business, and economics to improve the quality of their lives. The program provides high-quality materials that guide the teacher and volunteer through every step of the program activities. JA also provides students with business volunteers who bring real-world experience into the classroom.

For more about JA, go to JAMemphis.org or call 366-7800.