So, 2018 is finally here and Tuesday, Jan. 2, marks the first business day of the year. For one metro Detroit youth group, this day is more significant than the rest, as they are about to make history by being one of the first youth groups of its kind to ring the closing bell at the Chicago Stock Exchange at 3 p.m. CST/4 p.m. EST.
Money Matters for Youth (MM4Y) is an organization that is geared towards helping young people become financially literate and has been teaching financial literacy for the past 21 years. Its mission is to teach approximately 200 students annually between the ages of 8-18 the basics of economics and financial literacy and over the past two decades, they’ve done this through a five-day summer camp for its youth “investors.” Last spring, the group made history by being the first group of its kind to attend Warren Buffet’s shareholder weekend in Omaha, Nebraska.
One of the goals of taking the youth investors to ring the closing bell on the first official trading day of the year is to expose them to the world of business and entrepreneurship. There will be 27 members of the youth group traveling by bus from Detroit to Chicago for the day field trip, said Gail Perry-Mason, the group’s founder and executive. They will be clad in proper business attire with the young men donning white dress shirts, black dress pants and green ties and the young ladies will wear black dress skirts or pants, white blouses and pearls.
The day-long itinerary includes lunch at the main downtown Chicago branch of Fifth Third Bank with executives from the bank, an opportunity to speak with traders at the stock exchange and conclude with a tour of the Chicago Stock Market, where they will ring the closing bell at 3 p.m. CST before heading back to Detroit.
“It is going to be the experience of a lifetime for these young people,” Perry-Mason said. “This trip embodies our motto as another opportunity to expose our young people to the business world and potential career opportunities within the corporate arena. “
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