Syble Solomon wins Award for Outstanding Contributions to Financial Education for Youth (Press Release)

Wilmington-based Creator of Money Habitudes chosen for financial attitudes work by North Carolina Jump$tart Coalition

April 30, 2013 – Wilmington, NC – LifeWise Strategies, LLC announces that its founder, Syble Solomon, has been selected as the winner of the 2013 North Carolina Jump$tart Award for Outstanding Contributions to Financial Education for Youth.

The award is given annually by North Carolina Jump$tart Coalition, a nonprofit that seeks to improve the personal financial literacy of North Carolina’s youth. The award honors an individual or organization that has made outstanding contributions in educating the youth of North Carolina about personal finances. The Forsyth County eLink Program won the award in 2012 for its year-round educational and job readiness/placement services for low-income youth.

“Syble Solomon has worked with young people in North Carolina and across the United States to help them understand their money personalities and have great conversations with their peers and family about money,” says Tami Hinton, President of the North Carolina Jump$tart Coalition.

Solomon is the creator of Money Habitudes®, a fun, game-like tool used by personal finance and economics teachers, community educators, and life skills programs. The activity focuses on helping people understand how their habits, attitudes, values and behaviors affect the way they spend and save. The companion financial curriculum for youth, “Money Habitudes: How to be Rich in Life & Love” was co-developed by California-based Dibble Institute and won a 2012 Excellence in Financial Literacy Education (EIFLE) Award for Children’s Education Program of the Year, given by the Institute for Financial Literacy.

“It’s a great honor to be recognized by Jump$tart and this award is especially meaningful coming from a group of professionals dedicated to improving financial education. Having worked across the age spectrum, it’s clear how important it is for people to be aware of their financial habits and attitudes when they are young so they have the power and understanding to establish healthy habits and attitudes for the rest of their lives,” says Solomon.

Solomon has also won a number of national awards. She was previously named educator of the year by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and now serves on AFCPE’s national board of directors. She is also the recipient of a Smart Marriages impact award for her role in fostering healthy conversations around money. Prior to her work in financial education, Solomon spent more than two decades working in early childhood and special education.

The award was presented at the Financial Literacy Month Wrap-Up Luncheon on April 30, 2013 at the Quorum Center in Raleigh. The event featured an address by North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.