"...But we are the masters of our own destiny - we have to be, and we must remain in motion- moving forward." Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr.
Virginia Beach Mayor, William D. Sessoms, Jr., established the "Mayor's Action Challenge" to provide Virginia Beach families with affordable and sustainable opportunities that help them improve their quality of life. These challenges are designed to help them recognize their strengths and promote their development as happy and responsible citizens. Participants are given a series of milestones to complete as they are challenged to increase their awareness in five key components of financial fitness:
- Education
- Earnings
- Asset Building
- Savings
- Protection
As you accept the challenge to become financially fit for the future, you are not going it alone. With each milestone there are some special resources available to assist you in completing the challenges. Some of the resources include:
- Financial Empowerment Passport-Your passport to financial independence! This booklet is designed to point you to the resources in the area that can help you complete the challenge. The passport should be kept with you throughout the challenge so that as you complete a challenge you can mark it off the list. It also allows you to review those next milestones that you can be working toward.
- Coaching Team-The Mayor's Action Challenge has a number of corporate and community partners who stand ready to help you achieve your goals. The Financial Fitness Trainers work with you to keep you motivated and focused on taking that next step toward financial fitness. Counselors, instructors, and other partners will make this journey easier, as you use them to learn and put key principles into practice toward completing the challenge.
- Resource Directory-Each challenge outlines a directory of community partners offering their expertise and assistance, in addition to a variety of web-based resources that can be used to help you complete each challenge. These resources are generally few or very low cost options to help you keep more of the money for yourself.
- Challenge Summary-The summary outlines the critical challenges that must be completed to meet the Mayor's Action Challenge: 500 Families Financially Fit for the Future. There are multiple levels of completion so that if you are ready to take on advances challenges, they are there for you to meet.
Upon successful completion of the challenge, participants are awarded a certificate of completion and their name will be added to the Mayor's list of the Families Financially Fit for the Future. Participating in this challenge requires perseverance, but the rewards for following through on your commitment for financial fitness are great and can last a lifetime!
