Philadelphia residents Corey Camp and Jimmy Williams run a free financial literacy summer camp for children five years and older. They created their business, Buy the Hood LLC, in 2015 to teach young adults about finances, investing, and the power of ownership. These topics are rarely taught in school and are extremely important to know at an early age.
Corey is a special-ed teacher in Germantown and Williams is a real estate agent and investor. “Imagine if the concepts were put in front of us at 5 years old, and you could grow with them,” says Williams who is disappointed that these concepts are not regularly taught at a younger age. The two teach their concepts through games and relatable examples, and have not just real estate related topics, but also cryptocurrency, taxes, and how banks work. Their goal is to make an army of financially savvy, stable, and literate young people. Camp and Williams did not let the pandemic stop them either, taking their course virtual, allowing kids from all over the US to join. They have about 60 children joining this year’s camp.
They recruit kids through their network, and a majority of the attendees are African-American. Nationwide, the typical white family has eight times the wealth as a Black family. Most families build wealth through property ownership, but the homeownership rate for black families has dropped to 43%, while white families have remained at 73%, almost double. “Right now everyone is talking about wealth-building and generational wealth,” said Nicole Purvy, an entrepreneur and founder of the nonprofit Philly Real Estate Week, Inc., which teaches adults about real estate investing and home ownership. “But what good is it if we don’t teach the next generation how to receive it?” Purvy partnered with the camp this year and even started a fall gala to raise awareness for the camp.
This is an absolutely amazing camp and program. The fact that they are teaching children as young as five, at their own level, about finance is refreshing. Homeownership, its benefits and when is the right time to buy, is an extremely important message that all should receive as young as possible. Neither Erik or myself were taught any of these tips or lessons in high school or in-depth in college. Let’s spread financial literacy this year, bravo Corey and Jimmy!