During the spring, the Portage Chamber of Commerce sponsors a Reality Store for 8th grade Portage students. 20 to 21 business members from the community come out to help the students gain a sense of budgeting and a perspective on the choices they make.
Students envision their life as 27 year olds, working in a profession they choose, living a life they make up. They choose whether they are married, living alone or with a roommate, have kids, what type of place they live in, etc. They fill out a sheet and go around to different stations, manned by business professionals.
The students are given a set salary, based on the profession they chose, with taxes removed. Each station they visit explores a different aspect of life, such as housing. A real estate professional will look at the housing choice they made and subtract the funds, for example, the cost of a 2 bedroom home. The students then move along to other stations that explore the costs of life, subtracting funds from the money they’ve “earned” in their “careers.” At the end of the process, the students reach Life Chances. They pull a ball out of a bag at random, with random life occurrences such as winning the lottery or their house burns down. Depending on the choices they’ve made throughout the event and the Life Chances, the students may have to take on a second “job” or choose a different living situation or visit the local bankruptcy attorney on site to discuss the choices they’ve made. The only choice they cannot change is the number of kids they have chosen.
The students learn a lot about budgeting and make life choices throughout this process. While some kids realize that life is more expensive than they thought and practical decisions are important, “a lot of kids are very practical,” states chairperson Susan Johnson. The program gives the students “a real functional idea” of how life works and “all sorts of variables that can happen.” It is also a great experience for the members of the business community, as they get to spend time with the community youth.
The next Reality Store will be held at Fegely Middle School on May 12. Volunteers are always needed for this event. Contact the Portage Chamber of Commerce at 762.3300.