Country of Residence
United States
Age
15
Project title
FinancialBridge
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
FinancialBridge is a bilingual financial empowerment and decision-making program that aims to bridge the financial literacy gap for students at younger ages by making easy-to-learn, fun, and interactive financial resources accessible in a workshop format.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.financialbridge.net
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Scaling (We’re expanding impact to new locations or in new and innovative ways)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
In my freshman year of high school, after competing in DECA for personal financial literacy, self-studying, and becoming a state finalist, my Spanish 3 advanced teacher talked to me about a significant problem in our school community. She said that she had many students that came to her asking about financial information, such as earning income and bank accounts, since they had never learned about these basic financial topics. Since she saw that I competed for personal financial literacy, she asked me if I could quickly answer a few of their questions. A few questions and answers (in both English and Spanish), turned into a collection of bilingual slideshows and mini lessons that I created as resources for my peers. After I became aware of the lack of knowledge about essential financial topics, I started leading workshops for students in the spring of 2026. During the workshops, I collected pre- and post-surveys to measure the impact of my curriculum. After seeing the positive data, I realized that I had the potential to greatly impact students in and beyond my school community by making easy-to-learn and clear financial resources more accessible. FinancialBridge was born out of a need that I saw in my community, which inspired me to create and grow FinancialBridge.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
I am told when I was a baby and toddler, sounds and words were muffled, due to excessive fluid in my ears. I didn’t speak or verbally communicate until the age of three. Instead, I created my own language of signs which helped me communicate with my family. I communicated differently than others and growing up I had to learn to speak with the help of a speech therapist. While people, now, would never know that I had speech difficulties, communication has always been very important to me. In my school community, 50% of my peers natively speak Spanish, and as a fourth-year Spanish learning student, I have experienced the difficulties of speaking another language. This has showed me the challenges that many of my peers face in a school that speaks, teaches, and communicates in English. After studying personal financial literacy for DECA, I saw the importance of financial literacy. Seeing that students in my own high school didn’t have access to easy-to-learn financial information, I created my own financial resources, specifically targeted so students learn to make better financial decisions in the future. My personal experience with communication, paired with actively seeing a lack of financial understanding encouraged me to take action to help improve students’ financial learning and decision-making.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
In my program, FinancialBridge, I create original curriculum, lessons, and activities that have easy-to-learn, engaging, broken-down information and real-world examples, in English & Spanish. Often, existing financial resources have confusing terms and advanced vocabulary, making learning difficult for students. So, in response, I target my curriculum to focus on how students without financial backgrounds learn best. I started leading workshops in my high school to provide resources for my peers to make better financial decisions. After my workshops, my peers had increased confidence and knowledge. I realized I had the potential to impact many other students outside of my school community. I officially started FinancialBridge in April 2026, with the goal of expanding access to real-world financial resources. My workshops focus on important financial concepts, such as budgeting, earning income, credit & debit cards, and managing money. My goal is to empower students to make confident, strategic financial decisions. Through FinancialBridge, I partner with organizations, community centers, and schools to expand the reach of my financial workshops. I partnered with Richardson ISD, where my curriculum is available as supplemental teacher resources. I have an official partnership with Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains. I’m working with them to create ready-to-teach financial workshop boxes that have all materials. The goal of these boxes is to increase financial learning for girls by creating a system where troop leaders can easily purchase a box, teach a workshop, and have their girls earn financial badges. Additionally, I create and bring my own financial boxes to schools and organizations to encourage other teachers and leaders to increase access to financial resources.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Since I started my financial empowerment program, FinancialBridge, in April of 2026, I have impacted students across the DFW area, along with Richardson, Amarillo, and Lubbock. I have led 23+ in-person workshops, impacted 500+ students, and partnered with 6 organizations and 41 schools, including Richardson ISD and Girl Scouts. At my high school, JJ Pearce, I founded and lead the FinancialBridge Club as an extension of my program, in which I hold monthly meetings, which are meant to be a time for my peers and I to get together and discuss different financial topics. Bringing clear, easy-to-learn financial resources in both English and Spanish to my school and community is very important to me. In my community, I have partnered with community centers and libraries to lead financial workshops, lessons, and activities. I have an official partnership with Richardson Independent School District, where my original curriculum is available in teacher portals as supplemental resources. I also have an official partnership with Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains. I am working with them to create ready-to-teach financial boxes that will be sold in five Girl Scout stores and online. Additionally, I create my own financial workshops-in-a-box, which I bring to schools and community centers so that teachers, staff and volunteers can lead my financial workshops in their communities.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Although there are many available financial literacy resources in the world, I believe that, for many reasons, my original lessons and activities are unique. I make sure that my lessons and activities are very interactive, engaging, and fun. I design my activities with group discussions, hands-on learning (such as sorting physical money into budgeting categories), and real-world integration, allowing students grades K-12 to apply the concepts they learn instead of simply learning information. I have seen that many financial resources use advanced vocabulary and complex ideas, expecting students to already have a background of financial concepts. In response, I create my financial lessons with broken-down examples and simplified words so that students who have never learned about financial literacy can easily understand the lesson. To continue to expand access to my financial resources, I create financial boxes that have instructions, all materials, and slides so that other teachers and volunteers can easily lead my financial workshops in their communities. These boxes are ready-and-easy-to-teach with minimal preparation needed. I think that these boxes greatly differentiate my program from other financial literacy resources. Additionally, to encourage usage of my resources in public schools, I have designed some of my workshops to fit the Texas TEKS for personal financial literacy in schools. Furthermore, through my partnership with Girl Scouts, I have designed specific workshops to meet the requirements of Girl Scout badges to encourage girls to learn financial concepts. I have helped 85+ Girl Scouts, so far, earn financial badges. My collaboration with GSTOP will hopefully lead more girls to be empowered to make confident financial decisions in the future.
How many people are on your team?
9
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
My team includes teachers, volunteers, and coordinators who work with me to expand the reach and impact of FinancialBridge. My team helps spread awareness and organize logistics, such district directors of curriculum and Girl Scout coordinators. My team is not finished growing. It has taken 7 months to build my program, curriculum, partnerships, and team. Now, with a solid foundation, my goal is to train others to lead my financial workshops across the country.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, I am aiming for FinancialBridge to greatly expand its reach, number of partnerships, and number of students impacted. I am hopeful to partner with more Girl Scout councils in Texas and throughout the U.S. to make my ready-to-teach financial boxes more accessible for Girl Scout troops across a larger area. Additionally, I am going to work towards partnering with Girl Scouts of USA to incorporate my financial boxes as a part of their Girl Scout Experience Box Program, meaning that my financial boxes would be implemented and sold throughout most of the U.S. In my local community, I am planning on training ambassadors of FinancialBridge so that they can use my curriculum, lessons, and activities to lead workshops in their communities and schools. In the FinancialBridge Club at my high school, JJ Pearce, I am hopeful to appoint officers to help me expand the club. Also, I continue creating new lessons and activities based on financial topics that are becoming increasingly relevant, such as identity theft and understanding taxes.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Gaining trust from organizations and schools as a high school student has been a challenge for me throughout the growth of my program, FinancialBridge. I have written and contacted multiple, seemingly endless, organizations, school districts, and community centers, hopeful to be given a chance to share my curriculum and workshops with their students. Luckily, I found organizations that were willing to meet with me. By building partnerships with organizations, I have had the chance to earn their trust and work with them to expand access to my easy-to-learn, engaging, and fun financial resources. Additionally, I have been a guest speaker for National Junior Honor Society at the middle schools in my school district, Richardson ISD. As a guest speaker, I am able to spread awareness about my program, FinancialBridge, and the importance of learning financial topics at a younger age. By providing my ready-to-teach boxes to schools and making it easy for volunteers, teachers, and troop leaders to lead my financial workshops, more people are spreading financial awareness and decision-making skills through my program.
