A full schedule of activities, including classes focused on
credit scores, savings and investments and an event for teens, will highlight
Military Saves Week at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Feb. 22-26.
Service members and their families, retirees, Department of
Defense civilian employees and contractors will also have an opportunity to
visit a certified financial counselor at the JBSA-Randolph Military &
Family Readiness Center from 1-3:30 p.m. each day to receive their free credit
report, credit score and an interpretation of their score.
“Military Saves is a yearlong effort, but Military Saves
Week gives us a chance to really focus on finances and offer some classes and
events that you will not find the rest of the year,” said Kathleen Moree,
JBSA-Randolph M&FRC chief. “It is a great chance for the Military &
Family Readiness Center to partner with our on-base financial institutions
Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union and Broadway Bank to increase financial
awareness and visibility.”
The weeklong observance also provides the M&FRC team
with an opportunity to remind Airmen and civilians of the resources they offer
throughout the year, said Criselda Smith, JBSA-Randolph M&FRC community
readiness consultant.
“It’s a yearly reminder for our customers to pause and look
at their finances and to take advantage of the programs we offer to help them
become more money-smart,” she said. “We want them to be proactive – not
reactive – with their finances.”
Classes kick off from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 22 with “Credit
When Credit is Due,” a four-part series that will continue each Monday through
March 14 at the M&FRC, building 693.
Other classes planned at the M&FRC are “Thrift Savings
Plan,” 5:30-7 p.m. Feb. 23, and “Wise Investment Strategies,” 5:30-7 p.m. Feb.
26.
“Credit When Credit is Due” helps participants improve their
credit management skills through a variety of topics, from establishing and
rebuilding credit to mortgage loans and bankruptcies, Smith said.
If participants attend all four sessions, they will have a
positive statement added to their credit reports, she said.
The “Money Smarts Youth Rally,” planned for 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 at JBSA-Randolph Youth Programs, building 585, will help provide teenagers
with a financial foundation.
“It is never too early to start talking about finances, and
the Military & Family Readiness Center really enjoys partnering with our
youth center to offer the ‘Money Smarts Youth Rally’ for our teens,” Moree
said. “The teens that attended last year’s event loved it and wanted the dates
for this year so they could make sure they could attend again.”
Military Saves Week, with its 2016 theme of “Make Saving
Automatic,” kicks off the 2016 Military Saves Campaign.
In a memo addressing the 2016 Military Saves Campaign,
Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and
Marine Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia, senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Total Force command program “provides an
excellent opportunity for leaders at all levels and in all components – active
duty, National Guard and Reserve – to motivate and educate service members and
families.”
They called Military Saves Week “an opportunity for our
military community to come together with federal, state and local resources to
focus on the financial readiness of military members and their families and
help them reduce debt and save their hard-earned money.”
They also urged members of the military community to sign
the campaign’s Saver Pledge at http://www.militarysaves.org.
Smith encouraged anyone with a DOD ID card to attend
Military Saves Week events and use the services offered at the M&FRC.
“Hopefully they’ll take advantage of the activities during
Military Saves Week, but at any point during the year we’re here to take care
of them,” she said.