Phoenix Club Teams Up with Rock The Street Wall Street

In the Financial Sector, women make up about 8% of Venture Capital Partners, 9% of Mutal Fund Managers, and 2.5% of Hedge Fund Managers. According to Rock The Street Wall Street’s website, “there is a financial illiteracy epidemic in the U.S. Student loans and credit card balances are the highest they have ever been and workers are putting less and less away in their retirement accounts than ever before”.  Rock The Street Wall Street’ (RTSWS) aims to bridge this gap!  Rock The Street Wall Street offers Financial Literacy Workshops, Mentoring Opportunities, and Field Trips. According to The Tennessean, RTSWS has expanded from Nashville to serve Memphis, Chicago, New York City and Dallas/Ft. Worth. Nearly 600 high school girls have completed the five-week workshop, participated in internships and job-shadowing, and had the opportunity to tour financial services firms, banks, entrepreneurial centers and state treasury departments.

In February 2018, Phoenix Club of Nashville (PCON) had the opportunity to co-sponsor with HCA The Rock the Street Wall Street Program at Overton High School!

Members of PCON with Mary York, teacher at Overton HS and Maura Cunningham, founder of RTSWS

Through our venture philanthropy process, Phoenix Club was able to give $12,500 to Rock the Street Wall Street. This gift not only opened the door for new enrollments, but also provided the opportunity for a field trip to HCA Headquarters, where the students were able to see learnings in practice.This partnership was a way for the Phoenix Club of Nashville to support a foundation with their philanthropic goals while benefiting the community in a larger capacity.

Those unfamiliar, RTSWS was founded by Maura Cunningham.  Chapters include 20-50 girls in each chapter from grades 10 – 12. Each chapter meets one hour once a week, for five weeks. The program is led by volunteer instructors who are trained on Rock the Wall Street Curriculum. The workshops are conducted by leading female financial professionals. If you want to learn more about Cunningham’s mission, how to donate or volunteer, visit RockTheStreetWallStreet.com.