By Zach Spicer
Jackson County Industrial Development Corp.’s third annual Reality Fair is Friday, Dec. 4 in the gymnasiums at Seymour Middle School, 920 N. O’Brien St., Seymour. The first session (9 to 10:30 a.m.) and third session (1 to 2:30 p.m.) will include Seymour Middle School eighth graders, and the second session (11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) will include the eight other public and parochial schools in Jackson County.
The Reality Fair is a simulation of an adult’s financial life that allows youth to experience making financial decisions and managing money. They can experience what it is like to manage an account at a financial institution, make money-related decisions, obtain a loan, manage debt and more. For the youth, a Reality Fair can be an eye-opening, exciting and fun way to build financial knowledge and skills.
In each gym, after receiving a binder with one of 18 occupations and a worksheet, the students visit 12 booths. Those include credit card, transportation, housing Part 1, housing Part 2, sharing and charitable giving, pets, children, household spending, health care, cellphone, bank and the unexpected.
At each booth, one or two community members help guide the students as they make decisions.
If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering at one of the booths, email Zach Spicer at zachspicer@jcidc.com and note your booth preference and what session or sessions you’d like.
Last year, nearly 600 eighth graders from the nine Jackson County schools attended, and we had 64 people stationed at the booths.
