WAYNESBURG, Pa. – Oct. 8, 2024 – The Carmichaels Area School District, in collaboration with the Community Foundation of Greene County, has created the Carmichaels High School Investment Club Endowed Fund to promote financial literacy and hands-on investing experience among students. The newly established program aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the world of finance, investing and the stock market.
The Carmichaels High School Investment Club Fund will serve as a sustainable resource for educating high school students, offering them unique opportunities to learn about managing investment portfolios, fostering teamwork and developing leadership skills. Open to students in grades 9-12, the club will guide its members through the complexities of responsible money management and investment strategies.
The endowed Investment Club Fund was made possible through the Forget Me Not Fund which is held at CFGC and whose purpose is to provide grants to support educational, civic, and charitable programs in Greene County. “Investing in the stock market requires knowledge and skills,” said one of the donors who established the Forget Me Not Fund. “You can’t obtain these skills by pretending to invest. To use real money that you can lose might make you think more clearly.”
Annual distributions from the fund will be allocated by the Student Investment Club to recognized student clubs and organizations at Carmichaels Area School District, further enhancing their educational experiences.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to establish the investment club at Carmichaels High School. We are excited to put what we have learned and will learn as a group into action,” said Braden Christopher, a senior member of the Student Investment Club. “We’ll explore strategies for analyzing the stock market, using different methods to decide where to invest. Even though
we won’t see the full impact of our efforts, our hope is that it will benefit future classes for years to come.” According to Christopher, the Student Investment Club is under the advisement of Mrs. Cassie Menhart. Mrs. Menhart will be supported by the team at Milinovich & Co, a Registered Investment Advisory firm, in Waynesburg, who will have oversight of the account. Representatives from Milinovich & Co will also be accessible for the students to help answer market questions that may inform the club’s investment decisions.
“Using real money to buy stocks emphasizes the necessity for research and knowledge in investing in the stock market,” said the donor. “Losing that money would be a hard lesson for a student, especially if it means they couldn’t ‘invest’ their earnings in a favored school project.”
For more information on how to support the Carmichaels High School Investment Club or other charitable opportunities through CFGC, please visit www.cfgcpa.org or contact Dave Calvario at (724) 627-2010.
The Community Foundation of Greene County (CFGC), a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2000, is the central philanthropic vehicle in Greene County for donations of various types and sizes. CFGC currently manages over $8 million in assets through more than 100 different endowed and restricted funds.