Giving the women of tomorrow the skills and confidence they need to succeed.
Personal finance is an essential skill to navigate everyday life. At The Women’s Resource, we believe those skills are best learned early, so we created RISE! with the goal of integrating financial education into the day-to-day lives of high school students; providing them with the tools needed to make informed decisions for themselves, their families and their communities.
In the RISE! program, participants explore financial topics such as understanding your personal relationship with money, practicing responsible budgeting and savings and banking basics. In addition to financial education, RISE! participants receive practical career and college readiness lessons on topics such as communicating personal strengths and abilities, identifying career opportunities, writing a resume, and dressing for success.
A Support Network, Year by Year
The problem is simple. The next generation is at a higher risk of experiencing poverty, especially minority women.
Half of American households currently live paycheck to paycheck. Only 24% of Millennials show signs of basic financial literacy. Black and Hispanic women are twice as likely as White women to experience issues paying their bills. Women are more likely to have a lower credit score and less savings than men.
At RISE!, we believe that offering high school girls a four-year support system of peers and basic financial education will give them the confidence they need to make career and education goals for life after high school.
Our curriculum is built around their needs.
Write a little bit here about what they’d learn in this year. Nothing long. Just a paragraph.
Write a little bit here about what they’d learn in this year. Nothing long. Just a paragraph.
Write a little bit here about what they’d learn in this year. Nothing long. Just a paragraph.
Write a little bit here about what they’d learn in this year. Nothing long. Just a paragraph.
Impact by the Numbers
RISE! is a four-year program that meets with girls every month they are in high school.
Click on a GOAL to see our impact from the 2022/2023 school year
Program Goal:
230 Acceptance Letters,
67 Scholarships
Program Goal:
97 Percent
Program Goal:
$265,500 saved!
How can I help, other than by making a donation?
The RISE! program works with schools throughout Houston. However, you can still help as a successful member of the community. As part of the curriculum, we frequently take our girls on Career Exploration Field Trips to local corporations or bring in guest speakers. We believe that exposing our girls to the many avenues they have to choose from after high school motivates them to budget, save, and plan for the future.
If you’re interested in speaking to our girls or would like to host a field trip, email us directly!
Our RISE! School Partners
We work in conjunction with area schools to pinpoint young women with untapped potential who are ready to take their education to the next level. RISE! is unique in that it is delivered in a school setting and during school hours. Girls do not have to worry about how they will get to RISE! or about staying after school. Through our school partnerships, we work out a schedule that allows girls the opportunity to participate.
Each group of girls stays together for the duration of high school. As a result, the girls are able to support each other in school and beyond.
We host RISE! at Greater Houston Area high schools, including:
- Cristo Rey Jesuit School
- Spring Woods High School
- Stratford High School
- Westchester Academy for International Studies
- Yes Prep Northbrook
- Yes Prep North Central
- Yes Prep Southeast
- Yes Prep Gulfton
- Yes Prep East End
- Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy
Interested in having RISE! at your school? Let us know!
If you are a school administrator who believes RISE! would be a great addition to your school’s programs, please contact our Program Manager, Anne Motley at amotley@thewomensresource.org. Or, fill out the form below.
“Coming from a family with limited resources, it was crucial for me to learn how to manage my money and be able to help my parents make smart decisions financially. My thoughts about money have changed drastically. Now I appreciate every dollar that’s been given to me. I used to take for granted my parents’ bills and payments. I now understand that money plays a major role in our daily lives and the way it’s spent can have long-lasting effects on us.”
– A Junior at Chavez High School
FAQ
We are able to offer the RISE! program for free to all participants and partner schools because of the generous support we receive from funders and donors.
Please complete the Contact Us form above to express your interest in becoming a partner school.
Success is measured through pre and post program surveys each year. We measure progress on individual goals set during the program, knowledge gained from core program lessons, confident levels and total money saved.
Schools who wish to begin a new 9th grade cohort typically enroll 25-40 freshmen into the program. These students continue in the program through all four years of high school. RISE! typically launches 2-4 new cohorts each year.
RISE! Is supported by the She Angels Foundation