VCE Financial Education – Local Business Spotlight

We’ve seen our local business community quickly adapt from traditional storefront sales to curbside or online commerce. Your creativity is contagious and your passion for your craft deserves recognition! Interested in a blog post for your local business?

This week, we spend a few moments talking with Karen Poff, Senior Extension Agent and Manager of the Virginia Cooperative Extension – Northern Shenandoah Valley Financial Education Program. The organization is currently offering a free “Coping with a Money Crunch” webinar through Zoom! This is a great resource to help manage financial stress surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a state agency, Virginia Cooperative Extension offers local financial education programs to strengthen personal finances throughout Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties. Families who achieve financial stability are better able to meet their own housing, social welfare, and health care needs. They are also less likely to experience conflict over finances and thus better able to provide for their children’s physical and emotional needs. Families who are able to make their payments on time, meet their tax obligations, and reduce their debt contribute to the overall well-being of the local economy. By strengthening personal finances through education, our programs support family self-sufficiency.

We are offering a webinar called ”Coping with a Money Crunch” which provides Northern Shenandoah Valley residents information and tools to help them handle the personal finance stresses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Registrants can participate using Zoom from their web browser or by downloading the Zoom app for their tablet or smart phone. If they don’t want to use Zoom, they can call in using a landline or cell phone. People can visit this link to see all of the available dates and times and to register for the webinar. Only registered participants will receive a participation link. They can also download the program flyer or contact me at kpoff@vt.edu or 540-635-4549 to receive a copy by e-mail or mail.

Eating right, getting enough exercise, getting enough sleep (but not too much!) and most importantly attending the online services and events offered by my church.