James Clark, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis vice president of public safety and Neighborhood Alliance executive director, and Paula E.W. Carey-Moore, Urban League regional senior director of housing, met last fall with money on their minds.
“James said, ‘We’ve got to get individuals from the community to get their credit scores up,’” Carey-Moore said. “We decided to take a neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach.”
Carey-Moore took the proverbial ball and ran with it. Within weeks, Regions Bank had signed on to assist.
Carey-Moore said Shamara Stephens, Regions Bank mortgage loan originator, suggested a community outreach event. Country Financial, the St. Louis Treasurer’s office and others came on board.
The effort resulted in the first Inter-generational Wealth-Building and Empowerment Expo at Wohl Recreational Center Jan. 8, 2022.
“We wanted to present financial information in a way people will trust,” Carey-Moore said. “Our goal was to bring basic financial resources to the neighborhoods and teach people how to utilize the resources they are receiving.”
Carey-Moore said the expo was the Urban League’s kickoff event for the upcoming Money Smart Month in April.
“We are signing unbanked families up for checking/saving accounts, giving homebuyer information, signing them up for classes/workshops, providing credit and financial information,” she said. “We asked ourselves, ‘what are we seeing too much of?’ We see too much GoFun Me. We see too much payday lending. We see too many people without checking accounts.”
Rubbie Groves-Clay, Clay Realty Group LC owner/broker and author of “Get A Hold of Your Darn Finances,” said she attended the expo “because of my [more than] 27 years in the real estate business” and to share her book with attendees.
“I am a licensed real estate broker; however, my mission is not only to help people purchase homes but to show them how money works. Through my collaboration with the Urban League, we can and are going sell homes. Most importantly, we are going to change the mindset of millions as to how they deal with their money.”
Early attendees received a copy of Groves-Clay’s book, which examines topics, including developing a financial plan, credit, budgeting, money management and estate planning.
“The Office of Financial Empowerment/Operation HOPE was proud to participate at the Urban League Financial Empowerment event to provide information on our financial workshops and credit consultation services, which are delivered at no cost to the people,” Reginald D. Garth, Operation HOPE, financial wellbeing coach, said.
“Our first quarter workshops focus on personal financial development, and our second quarter workshops will focus on planning for your financial future. It is our commitment to the people of St. Louis to provide these services to help residents make better choices about their money and achieve their financial goals. To do this in partnership with the Urban League is of a huge benefit to the City of St. Louis because everyone deserves and needs financial literacy and empowerment.”
“We are proud to be a major sponsor of the Expo. COUNTRY Financial enriches lives in the community we serve. The sponsorship funds were used for food boxes donated to families in the community and catering for the event. At our booth, I provided information about home, auto and life insurance. I enjoyed meeting people in my community and answering their questions.”
Carlin Box, a Country Financial representative, said she and her firm were proud to be a major sponsor of the Expo.
“Country Financial enriches lives in the community we serve,” she said. “The sponsorship funds were used for food boxes donated to families in the community and catering for the event. Our booth provided information about home, auto and life insurance. I enjoyed meeting people in my community and answering their questions.”
Carey-Moore and the Urban League Housing Department are not strangers to wealth building and the importance of homeownership.
The department and community partners provide individual and group counseling to educate residents on financial capabilities, credit and money management, pre-and post-purchase housing counseling, loss mitigation outreach sessions and advocacy for fair housing.
âEach year, the Urban League Housing Department hosts the St. Louis Metropolitan Housing Task Force, which comprises multiple leaders from lending institutions, governmental agencies, community stakeholders, and nonprofits.
The Urban League Financial Literacy Training Program also helps participants learn how to manage household budgets, do basic checking and savings account management, understand credit reports, and recognize signs of predatory lending.
