PricewaterhouseCoopers college interns will be teaching “Banking on Our Future” finance curriculum to more than 4,000 students in 15 major American cities as part of Operation HOPE’s Five Million Kids initiative.
A five-year campaign designed to combat high school dropout rates and the lack of K-12 financial literacy, the Five Million Kids initiative offers the classes: course in dignity, the basics of banking, checking & savings accounts, and credit and investments.
Just less than half of high school students are financially literate, according to the
"Having a strong foundation on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is critical for the next generation of leaders as they begin to contribute to economic stability and competitiveness of the U.S. workforce," said Shannon Schuyler, PwC corporate responsibility leader, in a statement. "Financial literacy is a skill that our staff and interns have to share with the community to contribute to a sustainable marketplace and in turn learn important life and leadership skills."
PwC’s 850 participating winter-season interns will educate elementary, middle and high school students as part of the firm’s “intern experience,” which promotes service, youth education and leadership development.
"In addition to teaching the life-empowering content of the financial literacy curriculum, each PwC intern also serves as a role model for the youth in their classroom who are not accustomed to interacting with young professionals," said Mary L. Hagerty, HOPE's first senior vice president and global chief of financial literacy, in a statement. "Without even knowing, they are inspiring the youth to say, 'I can be just like them.'"
This is PwC’s second consecutive year supporting Operation HOPE, which was founded as a nonprofit in 1992 to financially educate under-resourced communities under a banner of “dignity and empowerment for all.” More information about Operation HOPE is available at
