A team of 9 residents bringing financial literacy courses to Tillamook featured at the national Bridge-Building Innovation Showcase.
A team of nine Oregonians who have worked across differences to promote financial education and empowerment in Tillamook County has been selected to showcase its efforts at the 2023 Bridge-Building Innovation Showcase.
The team came together in late 2022 as part of Urban Rural Action’s Uniting for Action on the Oregon Economy, a non-partisan program that brought together Oregonians in Portland Metro, Benton County, and Tillamook County to address financial literacy gaps, support aspiring entrepreneurs, and help vulnerable and homeless individuals find productive employment.
The Tillamook team partnered with Financial Beginnings Oregon to develop a plan to train volunteers and offer financial literacy classes through community partners and area schools. The financial resources and empowerment courses are promoted through local partner Tillamook County Wellness. Helping Hands, TBCC and Trask High School are already offering Financial Beginnings courses. The program is slated to expand to CARE, Inc., Habitat for Humanity, and Tides of Change, as well as into all local school districts.
“URA’s work provides a path for people who want to develop the tools to be able to communicate effectively and effect change in the form of a collective project,” said Maree Beers, the Financial Beginnings Community Partner Lead. “Our communities and our country are so much stronger when we unite as Oregonians and Americans to tackle shared challenges. I’m very excited by what we’re accomplishing together!” The Tillamook group is one of six teams of Americans from across the country who are being recognized for volunteering their time to work across political, racial, religious, generational, and other differences to solve local problems. The Showcase consisted of a live event at the Unity Temple on the Plaza in Kansas City on October 14, 2023 and a virtual webinar on October 19, 2023.
The Tillamook team was selected for the Showcase following a competitive process that included a written application and an interview with two judges who explored the team’s efforts to build relationships across differences and engage the broader community in addressing financial literacy.
The Uniting for Action on the Oregon Economy program has received financial support through the “Healing Starts Here” initiative from New Pluralists, which supports community-based efforts that promote belonging, embrace differences, and counteract divisive forces.
To learn more about local financial education programs, visit Financial Wellness | Tillamook County Wellness.