CCMS is dedicated to giving consumers the counseling and skills needed to live a financially balanced life. We believe that every free workshop and seminar we give and all counseling we provide is an achievement.
In 2006 we have been committed to reaching out to our community with free seminars, open houses and workshops. Our goal is to continue to offer these free forums as well as to increase the amount of classes and the topics we offer. Right now we are in the progress of working on a "Women in Financial Transition" weekend seminar. This important seminar will help women in all forms of financial transition: women leaving the workplace to stay home with children, women returning to the workplace, women going back to school, women going thru a divorce, widows and more. Our plan is to offer real-time tips, strategies and counseling that will help all women in financial transition.
In 2005 we reached over 700 people through community presentations and first-time homebuyer workshops. We currently have nine partnerships with local businesses, schools and non-profit organizations to hold presentations and workshops throughout the year.
One of our major achievements was being awarded the Bank of America Credit Counseling grant, which allowed us to hire a full-time Community Outreach Coordinator. Our Coordinator was hired for the sole purpose of extending our financial literacy efforts.
Another huge success has been the personal finance classes we hold at a local high school, Palm Beach Lakes Community High School. We started the program in 2004 and have started our second year with the start of school. This year we will use the FDIC's Money Smart Program that teaches everything from the basics of banking to the fundamentals of homeownership. We have also been able to give a donation to the school to allow them to buy computer software and classroom materials that teach money management for the exceptional learning students. These efforts reach approximately 150 to 200 high school juniors and seniors each school year. In addition to our efforts on the high school level, CCMS has partnered with Palm Beach Community College to provide financial seminars to various student groups.
In July, 2005 CCMS's chief operating officer, Charlie Fetscher, was elected vice president of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA), a national membership organization, established to promote quality and consistent delivery of credit counseling services. This is an honor and great responsibility.
We were awarded grant by AICCCA for the second year in a row. This grant allows us to continue our work with Palm Beach Lakes Community High School.
We recently began community partnerships with several businesses and non-profits. We are currently financial counseling providers for several employee assistance programs including the Broward County (FL.) Commission, which includes all county employees. We have established relationships with five local banks and three mortgage lenders to counsel the customers they deny for a line of credit as well as facilitating first-time homebuyer workshops and personal finance seminars.
In addition to these efforts, we are working closely with other non-profits such as the United Way and the Riviera Beach Family Resource Center to provide personal finance workshops, first-time homebuyer classes and free credit report analysis to our local community. We also attend housing fairs and expos as participants and guest speakers.