TOLEDO, Ohio — A local youth program's camp aims to help teens learn finance skills and help prepare them for jobs in cybersecurity, media, financial media and modeling.
Rachel Mcclellan started the New Me Foundation in 2013 to give struggling kids the ability to grow.
She offered programs aimed at helping the teens find something to do, like dance and fitness, so the "Save The Youth'" slogan made sense. As she continued with programming, McClellan said the foundation had to grow to include even necessary programs.
"Cybersecurity, modeling we're going to continue with that, fitness agriculture, literacy and financial literacy," McClellan said.
Teen Camp 101 runs from July 1 to Aug. 10 and is for ages 13 and up. It will focus on the importance of finance since McClellan said she's seeing a real need for knowledge on the subject.
"No matter what school we went to, public or Catholic, I noticed that these children didn't know anything about budgeting. They didn't know anything about a bank account," she said.
Paula Taylor is McClellan's right-hand woman. She joined the foundation in 2016 as the secretary and photographer. She said the organization's growth and the kids are what keep her coming back every year.
"We've been working pretty good. The kids have graduated and gone on to like nice jobs and I like it a lot." Taylor said.
While McClellan agreed, her programming ideas are not new and there are others similar to hers in and around Toledo. The focus isn't always on what's new, though, it's about what's available.
"I understand I might not touch every child, but the goal is to be able to have that resource for the children," McClellan said.
McClellan's eight-year-old son, William Cowell, said he's a big fan of the teen programming, too.
"It's a great business to me because I think it's cool and all, but I think because my mom is cool too," he said.
For more information about Teen Camp 101 or The New Me Foundation, click here. You can also call 567-342-1789 to register.