Helping Children Through Schools Across the United States
At Bonzy Charities, we take the health and well-being of children seriously. Through our Coat Day program and Financial Literacy Day financial education program, we are helping children with their day-to-day challenges while preparing them for a bright future.
Bonzy Charities supports the needs of children from low- and moderate-income families through their schools. We focus on elementary schools that have a high percentage of students participating in free or reduced-price meal programs. We believe elementary schools are critical in establishing foundations for children that will serve them their entire lives. A child’s basic needs, such as keeping warm on cold winter days, must first be met to create an environment where they can learn, and this is why Bonzy facilitates Coat Days. Learning the concepts of saving, budgeting, planning, donating, and making good choices are as fundamental as learning to read and to do math, and that’s why Bonzy facilitates Financial Literacy Days.
Many children are coming to school on the coldest days of winter in sweatshirts or thin fleeces. When they get sick, they miss days of school. When children stay home from school, family members may have to miss days of work, placing an even greater burden on the household finances. These children need new winter coats, and Bonzy Charities has made it our mission to ensure they get them.
Bonzy Charities sponsors Coat Days at elementary schools in the Columbus Ohio Community. On Coat Days, volunteers assist students in selecting new winter coats, with each child at the school receiving a coat to take home. We coordinate these activities with school districts where the schools have a high percentage of students participating in free or reduced-price meal programs and with sponsoring companies.
Many people enter adulthood without a background in the most fundamental concepts of personal finance: needs vs. wants, saving, spending, donating, budgeting, planning. Across the United States, 45 states require personal financial literacy to be taught in schools starting in kindergarten, but much of the curriculum is concentrated at the middle and high school levels. That’s why we’ve made it a priority to bring financial literacy for kids to the youngest students.
For Financial Literacy Days, we work with financial institutions to arrange volunteer visits to elementary schools. At each visit, the volunteer conducts a read-aloud of one of our books, such as Best Day at the Zoo, to students in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. Not only do students have the chance to learn more about concepts of personal financial literacy, each of them also gets a free copy of the book to take home and keep.
Our series of books, beginning with Best Day at the Zoo, is designed entertain children while educating them on the personal financial literacy concepts of saving, budgeting, planning, donating, and making good choices. The books are written in the anapestic tetrameter style that was commonly used by Dr. Seuss, making them fun to read and be read to. Oriented toward kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade students, these books and are enjoyed by all children ages 4-10. The books were written to the National Standards for Personal Financial Literacy in the United States, which was used to develop learning standards for financial literacy for most states.
Bonzy Charities – through the support of corporations, foundations, and individuals – is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that assists children from low- and moderate-income families. Our guiding philosophy is “Be Part of the Solution,” and that philosophy is reflected in our efforts to bring winter coats and financial education to children who need them.
To learn more about our Coat Days program, including information on how to be part of it, please reach out to Bonzy Charities today.