YourPaycheck.org -

The Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce, along with the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis and local colleges, sponsors a financial education class specifically designed for working teens. The two-hour class, called Your Paycheck, is taught by college students trained at the St Louis Fed and is offered to reach teens at a “teachable moment”—when they receive their first paychecks. The class is interactive and helps teens to understand their paycheck, manage a checking account or other payment options, to shop wisely and to budget and save. The Chamber is currently seeking business sponsors for the program.

Business Sponsors

Your Paycheck is unique because local businesses encourage teen participation. The sponsors of Your Paycheck remember the work and life lessons that came with their first job. They understand the critical need for teens to learn how to manage money. And they believe that employers who encourage teens to attend the class will be sending an important life-long lesson about the value of being an educated consumer, saving early, and planning ahead.

Founding business sponsors of Your Paycheck include County Market, the Quincy Herald Whig, and Media Development, provider of the Your Paycheck web site.

How to Become a Business Sponsor

Sponsorship is easy and inexpensive! Participating businesses (1) agree to encourage their teen-aged employees (or other teens) to take the two-hour Your Paycheck class and (2) provide a bonus to those who do.

The bonus amount is at the discretion of the employer and can take a variety of forms. One option is to pay a student employee for two additional hours of work when they provide a certificate of class completion. Alternatively, an employer could offer participating teens a gift certificate, corporate merchandise, or “Chamber Bucks” (purchased from the Chamber at face value and useable at participating businesses). Finally, business sponsors may decide to contribute funds directly to the Chamber. If you are interested in sponsorship please contact the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce.