Consumer Action salutes CBO partner with award nomination

By Audrey Perrott

Consumer Action’s director of strategic partnerships, Audrey Perrott, nominated Heath Carelock, director of the Financial Empowerment Center at Prince George’s Community College (FEC@PGCC), for the Community Champion award in the Financial Education and Capability Awards Program. The awards are made possible by the Maryland Society of Accounting and Tax Professionals and the Woodside Foundation and are coordinated by CASH Campaign of Maryland, the Maryland Council on Economic Education, and the Maryland State Department of Education. They highlight the dedication and success of public school teachers, community champions and outstanding organizations that deliver financial education. Winners receive a certificate and $1,000.

The FEC@PGCC is long-term community partner of Consumer Action. Under Carelock's leadership, the FEC has scaled its programming and broadened its target audience and service area. Some of the innovations that have been initiated under Carelock's leadership include: adoption of tools such as the SavvyMoney app and the Money Habitudes financial personality assessment; internet radio podcasts featuring subject matter experts; a strong social media presence and archived webcast workshops on Facebook; research into the effectiveness of the Financial Empowerment Center’s programming; COVID-19-specific financial empowerment programming; and ongoing virtual and in-person financial and small business coaching.

Carelock has also facilitated Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE®) trainings on trauma-informed care in personal finance, identifying how personal traumas impact financial capability and wellbeing and exploring trauma-sensitive approaches to financial counseling and coaching.

Consumer Action has collaborated with the FEC@PGCC for years. FEC@PGCC staffers have attended Consumer Action-hosted train-the-trainer events and consumer empowerment conferences, invited Consumer Action employees to present at its events, and met with Consumer Action to learn best practices on integrating FinTech and matched savings into existing financial coaching and capability programs. We have also been able to participate in some of FEC@PGCC’s “Virtual Empowerment Hour” programming.

“Consumer Action is revered not just because of its national reach and ethical touch, but also because of its constancy of relevant information, focused on financial wellbeing, and its emphasis on equipping citizens and residents with up-to-the-minute economic information,” said Carelock. “Consumer Action [has] given the FEC@PGCC an added edge in supporting clients, and that makes their resources and reinforcement irreplaceable!”

Carelock will receive his award at a ceremony on April 27.