Elise McVeigh and WOW's Life Camp for Youth
Jul 26, 2023Elise McVeigh has always been very entrepreneurial her whole life. In 2001, after she had her third child, she wanted to do something beyond being a “stay-at-home mom.” This is when she started Elise McVeigh’s Life Camp seminar company, where she would give talks to parents about manners and getting organized. At one of those speeches, she got the suggestion of starting a children’s manners camp, and this started a new direction for children's camps. Being a small business owner has served her well over the years with raising three children.. Elise has the satisfaction of serving the community, and working with other people’s children. She says that it has been as beneficial to her, as the people that she has served.
In June, Elise partnered with us to offer a new WOW virtual Life Skills Camp with the addition of our new pilot program WOW's Financial Citizenship For Youth™. It was a wonderful experience to watch Elise engage with the children, teach them through activities, worksheets, books, and action steps. When we asked the students what their favorite part of the 4-day event was… they all enjoyed learning how to use their utensils and set the table correctly as well as how to earn more money through providing services to their families and communities. It was magical.
Below are a couple of the student’s testimonials.
A lot of the things, even stuff that I have already learned, I feel like I got to elaborate a little bit more on, and understand more rather than just following it, and I really liked the utensils and the whole time. It was FUN!”
“It was very great and I loved learning proper manners like what to say and not to say. Also learning all the different types of dishes and utensils.”
Elise taught the children everything from how to use their utensils and restaurant behavior, meeting and greeting etiquette, practiced conversation skills, table manners, all the way up to the Financial Citizenship For Youth™ program with Jennifer Burnham-Grubbs. The event was offered for one hour a day over a four day period and the children were 5 to 14 years of age. All the children gave feedback that showed how much they enjoyed learning manners and etiquette with Elise, Financial Literacy from Jennifer and just overall loved the camp!
Peggy Beauregard, a WOW supporting member, attended the Financial Citizenship For Youth™ session and shared a fun way for children to make money while helping their neighbors at the same time. Peggy suggested that kiddos (with the help of their parents, depending on their age) meet their neighbors and ask them if they need help moving their trash cans to and from the curb on trash day for a fee of $1 to $4 dollars per week. Jennifer shared how math and money go hand-in-hand. She explained this through examples; how much would each student earn if they made $4 per week and offered this service to 5 neighbors making $25 per week. Then took it a step further by explaining to the students that by depositing the earnings into an interest bearing savings account, instead of spending it, you make your money, make more money! Again, it was magical!
We are excited to continue to announce the progress of Financial Citizenship For Youth™ and excited to see the opportunities that come to Elise and WOW through this partnership!
Small Actions X Lots of People = BIG CHANGE.
Our donors are changing the world by equipping women with financial literacy, fluency, and mastery.
