CONTRIBUTED BY CIRCLES OPELIKA
OPELIKA —
Circles Opelika has partnered with Dr. Portia Johnson, assistant professor and extension specialist at Auburn University, to pilot the redesign of the Money Management Calendar that has long been a household staple provided to the Alabama community by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
Johnson and staff undertook an overhaul of the calendar under the newly created WISE MONEY initiative. The Weekly Income, Saving & Expenses (WISE) Money Management Calendar is a financial management tool for families. The calendar’s purpose is to help plan and monitor your income, savings and expenses. The redesign includes a 12-month planner with user-friendly worksheets. It is supported by a free, one-hour budgeting workshop.
Circles Opelika provided valuable feedback on its usefulness and functionality. The organization said it is “very happy” to be asked and offered an honest critique of the product. Being asked to participate in something that is beneficial to people across the state was exciting, it added, and the Circles Opelika team gave it the necessary time to review and make changes. Johnson worked with Circles Opelika for several weeks to make the revisions to the WISE program and to bring the suggestions provided by Circle leaders to life.
Circles of Opelika is a Poverty Reduction Program with a mission to inspire and equip families and communities to resolve poverty and thrive. Circles Opelika is the only Circles program in Alabama, and the organization is extremely proud of this. The national program, Circles USA, is based on 20-plus years of research and has approximately 300 chapters throughout the U.S.
Circles Opelika addresses systemic causes contributing to poverty in addition to increasing social capital. Poverty is a concern of the entire community, and it will take the entire community to resolve the issue, including education and awareness. Together we can have a real impact on the communities we serve.
Circles Opelika expressed gratitude to Cooperative Extension Services for allowing it to be a part of this opportunity.
For more information about Circles Opelika, please contact Regina Meadows at 334-203-1860 (office), 334-782-4490 (cell) or via email at rmeadows@circlesopelika.org.
For more information about the WISE Money program, visit the Alabama Cooperative Extension website at www.aces.edu.