Camille Walker contributes to positive change

LOU Saves sparks ambition to go to college

The University of Mississippi has the potential to transform the inequitable structures in Mississippi that contribute to generational poverty. LOU Saves is an initiative that seeks to promote family economic stability by increasing financial literacy and encouraging saving for higher education. LOU Saves opens a bank account for each participating child and offers incentives to encourage savings.

In Lafayette County, 45 percent of families experience liquid asset poverty, meaning they lack the savings to survive at the poverty level for three months. In an effort to disrupt the cycle of generational poverty, LOU Saves provides financial literacy workshops for child savers and their caregivers and offers individualized financial coaching sessions. These supports provide the scaffolding for financially vulnerable families to build assets.

The Corporation for Enterprise Development has found that low-income students with savings of at least $500 are four times more likely to graduate from college. By providing incentives for families to save toward higher education, LOU Saves seeks to facilitate educational attainment in Lafayette County. LOU Saves is supported by a grant from the United Way of Oxford and Lafayette County and works closely with Oxford University Bank, the financial institution partner, and Oxford-University United Methodist Church, the account custodian. The involvement of a custodian allows LOU Saves to open each account in the child’s own name. Each child savings account is opened with a seed deposit of $50, and the program engages in fundraising to match up to $100 of deposits made on behalf of each child per year. Currently, 62 child savers have opened accounts through LOU Saves; they are drawn from summer learning programs such as Horizons at the University of Mississippi and the Abbeville School Summer Enrichment Camp. As of December 2018, the 62 child savers have deposited over $14,000, an average of $228.64 per child.

In addition to offering financial literacy workshops each fall, LOU Saves hosts an annual Bank Day for all participants, as well as a Financial Fun Day for Families that combines physical fitness activities with financial literacy challenges. UM students play an integral role in facilitating many of these workshops and events.

In reflecting on LOU Saves, one service-learning student said that “the financial education project was the first opportunity I had to interact with members of the community who are not connected to the university. The experience gave me a new perspective on the area. Now that I have been exposed to problems that are facing this community, I will pursue other opportunities to better the community of which I am now a part.” n