Goal Card Program

On Thursday, November 14th, RISE Memphis teamed up with the Shelby County Trustees Office and the Memphis CRA to host the "On My Own" financial simulation experience for BTW seniors. The event took place in the BTW gymnasium and was facilitated by Molly Polatty with the Shelby County Trustees Office along with Goal Card staff. 

The OMO program is an interactive financial simulation designed for youth ages 13-20. During the simulation, students become the major income provider for their household which may include spouse and children. Students are tasked with providing housing, food, transportation, childcare, and other needs for their families all while staying within their budgets. The goal of the OMO program is to provide students with insight in regard to their future financial health by teaching life lessons based on their choices. RISE hosts this event annually with the BTW seniors in partnership with the Shelby County Trustees Office.

Goal Card is an incentive-based program that provides structured academic coaching/support from caring Goal Card coaches who lend their time and insight to provide ongoing encouragement and guidance. Founded in 2003, Goal Card has served more than 15,000 students to date and has been a proud partner of BTW High School for nearly 20 years.  The program teaches inner city, public school students grades 5-12 how to set and achieve academic, financial, and life goals.

Here at RISE Memphis, we have programming for all ages, including our signature program for working adults, Save Up. Our rising high school participants often ask how they can remain in Goal Card if the program is not offered at their high school. The answer is simple! If a parent qualifies for the Save Up program, grade-age students within the household are automatically enrolled into the Goal Card program and can remain a Goal Card member until the time of high school graduation! 

Let's take a moment to celebrate one of our "Save Up babies", Andreya. Andreya's mother, Dorothy, entered RISE's Save Up program in 2018 while Andreya was a Goal Card member at one of our participating schools. When Andreya was promoted to high school, she was able to remain in our program even though Middle College High School was not an official Goal Card site. Andreya has had great success throughout high school and recently graduated from Middle College on Saturday, May 18th. She will attend TSU in the fall to study Nursing! Special congratulations to both Andreya and Dorothy! We are so proud of you and it has been an honor to watch Andreya grow!

To get more information about our RISE programs, please contact our office at 901-507-6644 .