MyPath Partner Spotlight: Empowering Financial Futures with YouthBuild Rockford
Since 2024, YouthBuild Rockford — a program of Comprehensive Community Solutions in Rockford, Illinois — has partnered with MyPath to help young people build the financial skills, confidence, and access they need for long-term success. Through supportive leadership, the dedicated efforts of their MyPath-trained staff and peer facilitators, and a burgeoning partnership with their local credit union, YouthBuild Rockford is showing how integrating MyPath financial capability practices into their pre-apprenticeship program can transform youth outcomes.As part of MyPath’s broader collaboration with YouthBuild Global and 17 of its programs, YouthBuild Rockford is distinctive in that, in addition to being an active MyPath practitioner, its CEO William Chatman is a passionate financial capability contributor within MyPath’s national peer facilitator community. Both an alumnus of YouthBuild and a board member of YouthBuild Global, William has joined MyPath’s skills-building workshops for YouthBuild alumni peer facilitators to share his inspiring personal leadership journey as well as tips to help these young leaders achieve impact as first-time fincap facilitators. This deeper involvement has been key to YouthBuild Rockford’s success and helped make the program an invaluable MyPath partner.
Lessons from a Successful Partnership
1. Boosting Financial Capability through Knowledge, Access, & Opportunity
YouthBuild Rockford, to date, has implemented MyPath across three cohorts serving 60 young people, with workshops facilitated by staff leaders, Molli Robey and Estefanny Cruz-Ortiz, and peer facilitators, Shaliese Trammell and Daquawn Smith. Instrumental to their program’s success has been pairing financial education with real financial access. Through a partnership with Rock Valley Credit Union, nearly every participant opened a checking and savings account and enrolled in direct deposit, allowing youth to move away from costly check-cashing services and begin building real savings habits. At the same time, YouthBuild Rockford increased stipends for participants last year (by approximately $250 per month per participant) and many participants qualified for an incentive from the credit union (an extra $100), which helped to create more opportunities for budgeting and saving and reinforced their MyPath lessons.
2. Turn-Key Curriculum & Tools That Work for Staff and Youth
Through the MyPath curriculum and MyMoney platform, participants are bolstering both their understanding and practice of financial concepts, and staff and peer facilitators are finding these easy-to-use tools game changing. As Molli explained:
“We want to teach our young people about finances but it’s really hard for us to come up with our own curriculum. We want to make sure we hit all of the talking points and teach them all the things that they need to know, and the MyPath curriculum makes it easy for us to do that. It’s easy for us as facilitators to follow, and it’s easy for the students to grasp. We wouldn’t be able to teach them as thoroughly about this stuff if it wasn’t for MyPath.”
The interactive format has helped youth engage deeply in topics like credit, budgeting, and spending habits. Esteffany shared how the material creates meaningful conversations:
“Just being able to guide them and being able to learn the MyPath material with them has been very exciting and fulfilling. They definitely enjoyed it, especially the portions where they were learning about personal budgets and just having that control over their money and their spending.”
Molli also noted how MyPath’s MyMoney platform increased engagement:
“The modules are very easy for them to follow… they get into really good conversations, and it’s heartwarming to see how much they learn about their finances.”
3. MyPath Tools + Banking + Increased Earnings = Real Savings Growth
By aligning MyPath’s financial curriculum with banking access and increased stipends, YouthBuild Rockford saw immediate behavioral shifts. As Molli observed:
“I think the combination of having a bank account to access their money and also having extra money has helped this group to really put money aside for savings. Last week, one student told me he’s saved almost $3,000 for a car.”
She added:
“They are saving their money and watching where it goes instead of just having cash and not knowing where it goes.”
Because students enrolled in bank accounts right before starting the MyPath curriculum, they were able to connect lessons directly to real transactions and spending patterns—making budgeting exercises far more meaningful.
4. Peer Leadership Strengthens Engagement
Involving peer facilitators in the delivery of the fincap curriculum – an innovation central to MyPath’s approach – is also powering YouthBuild Rockford’s success. By guiding MyPath activities like the beloved Money Habitudes game and sharing their own financial experiences, peer facilitators Shaliese and Daquawn have helped participants see financial growth as achievable and relevant. According to staff, their proximity in age and experience to the participants has made the financial conversations highly relatable and has helped participants surface insights about their personal spending habits which have enhanced their self-awareness and confidence. This increased confidence was reflected by recent participant and Rockford YouthBuilder of the Year, Manny L.
“MyPath helped me see where my money was going. It helped me learn to manage it better.”
Peer facilitators also played a role in helping participants shift their mindset to consider a more “planful” approach to money — moving from uncertainty or avoidance to curiosity and goal-setting.
Onward with a More Integrated Financial Capability Approach
As YouthBuild Rockford staff engage their next cohorts of participants in MyPath this year, they’re equipped with a strong foundation: an engaging, easy-to-use financial curriculum; enhanced banking access and opportunity through their credit union partnership; meaningful youth earnings, peer leadership opportunities; and supportive adult mentorship. We celebrate their successes and look forward to another year of strong collaboration and fostering wealth-building pathways for their young people. Congratulations, YouthBuild Rockford!
