Livestream: Financial Empowerment

Today, an ambitious financial education program operated by Delaware state government and the United Way of Delaware is bringing a message of financial empowerment for working people to a national stage.

The organizations have partnered with Ted Talk in Wilmington, Delaware, to film 15 financial education videos. The videos will be livestreamed on Sept. 12 starting at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Since 2011, the state program, known as Stand by Me, has provided one-on-one financial coaching to some 16,000 Delaware residents, said Mary DuPont, who runs it. Today’s Ted videos grew out of DuPont’s 2016 presentation for Ted-X Wilmington.

The videos feature various proponents of financial education, including Javier Torrijos, chair of the Delaware Hispanic Commission, who will tell his personal story about the trials and aspirations of growing up as a child of Columbian immigrants, DuPont said.

Kevin Gilmore, executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Delaware’s Sussex County, will speak about his realization that preparing people financially to buy homes is just as important as building the physical structures.  And “Why a Steady Job is No Longer Enough to Feel Financially Secure” is the title of a talk by New York University professor Jonathan Morduch, who has been featured on this blog.

The 15 videos will be archived on the Ted website and on standbyme.org, probably in November. If you don’t want to wait, here’s the livestream.

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