Yvonne McNeil: Empowering Vulnerable Populations with Financial Education

January's theme is Financial and Economic opportunity. To celebrate this month, we will highlight an NDMVA Atlanta member–Yvonne McNeil. She is a Financial Empowerment Associate at the International Rescue Committee (IRC). 

"Learning about finances can release people from pressure and stress that they don't even realize they're under," Yvonne said. She is responsible for facilitating six finance classes a week for some of the most vulnerable populations in the United States: refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. 

The classes are part of a nine-month program that the IRC offers to help new arrivals to the US  understand and acclimate to new cultures and customs. Her financial literacy program includes classes related to budgeting, banking, credit, and loans, how to file taxes, and how to purchase a car. She even offers a car-purchasing workshop. 

"I teach my students to navigate the financial system, which can be empowering," Yvonne explained. She teaches about the differences between the financial systems where her students come from and where they are now so that students can navigate the US financial system confidently. 

Each week, classes are conducted in a different language with an interpreter. Languages include, but are not limited to:  Swahili, Spanish, Arabic, and Burmese. Yvonne has the opportunity to build relationships with her students and the interpreters.

Yvonne has a Master’s in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. While working on her degree, she studied in Sierra Leone, West Africa, researching the biofuel industry. That experience opened her eyes to the humanity behind all the facts she learned in school. Being a part of the community directly brought the knowledge she was gaining to life. "I have a strong sense of reality with a very theoretical background," she said. Her service opportunity with NDMV AmeriCorps is a fulfilling and inspiring way to apply the theory of economics that she studied in school.

While Yvonne is teaching, she tries to remember what her students are going through. Some of her students have just experienced a challenging journey to get to their new home in the US. She explained, "When we are talking about teaching people who have just arrived in the country, six classes about finance…you don't know where they are emotionally or what they will even retain." When her students are tired in her class, Yvonne gives them the space to rest. 

“‘I embrace their humanity,’ she said. “People who can make it through what they have been through can understand how to open a bank account if just given the information.” She puts the people first and the content second. ”

" I genuinely feel a deep passion about dedicating such a powerful skillset to people as a volunteer…AmeriCorps created a circumstance for me where I feel supported enough to pursue this as an option," Yvonne said. She feels supported the most by frequently being reminded of why she does what she does. Staying connected to her "why" is the fuel that allows her to stay inspired while she teaches her students. 

Yvonne is confident that she is making an impact in the Atlanta community that will last long beyond her year of service. She said, "The financial classes I teach are for generational wealth building…my students will pass on what they have learned to communities and those that come after them." Thanks to Yvonne's commitment to say "yes" to service, future generations can have more financial and economic opportunities.