The Pando Initiative has been successfully connecting with more than 200,000 students in area schools since 1990. Our goal is to help remove obstacles that keep students from reaching their goals and being successful. We have dedicated team members in each of our schools to help address both academic and non-academic impediments that prevent students’ learning.
In addition to the meaningful work that we do in the Wichita, Haysville and Derby School District, The Pando Initiative has created a financial literacy program called Reality U. Reality U brings a bit of “reality” to students through a 75-minute interactive and engaging personal finance simulation. Students imagine their life as a 26-year-old and complete an online lifestyle survey. This information is entered into our trademarked software, along with their current GPA, to create a unique and individualized future scenario.
Each scenario includes the student’s monthly income, credit card debt, student loan information, as well as marital and family status. Students are given a checkbook register to track their monthly purchases from the 12 booths representing services and/or products that adults typically must purchase or consider each month. Sometimes they must return a “purchase” and make a different decision. The checkbook register can’t fall below zero!
This event actively engages students to help them understand the importance of how their performance in school today impacts their future.
As an organization, we are continually looking for ways that we can share the meaningful work that we do within the community. We are thrilled to announce that Pando has received a generous grant from Emprise Bank to help provide funding and resources to give us the opportunity to create videos to tell stories and bring awareness to the community as well as new partnerships.
The funding that has been granted to us for this project will help Pando to share the impact that our programs have, and can be used for volunteer recruitment, promotional materials and much more. We are proud of the work that we do in schools, and on the road and can’t wait to share it with others. Thank you Emprise for believing in the work that we do and your commitment to the growth of The Pando Initiative.