Reimagining life education with LyfeLit

Youth Economic Advancement (sponsored by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation)

County of Los Angeles

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative

Schools are failing to prepare students to navigate the challenges of the real world. Our modern education system is designed around traditional competencies, such as math, science, and literature. That's not enough. Only 24% of young adults have basic financial literacy (NEFE, 2018), costing them thousands due to poor money habits, credit scores, etc. They show the highest levels of clinical anxiety and depression than any other generation, while 69% of U.S. adults are considered overweight or obese (CDC, 2022). The youth's most valuable resources (time, health, and money) are at extreme risk. And with schools placing the burden of teaching these crucial concepts on parents, those from underserved areas are most neglected - perpetuating the poverty cycle. By increasing life literacy in our community, more people can achieve financial freedom, be healthier, and have more meaningful relationships. This triggers more inclusive growth to all people and the networks that power our society.

LyfeLit meets students where they're at through a gamified educational journey that makes learning mundane topics enjoyable and rewarding. This grant enables us to elevate the youth in 3 main ways. First, by furthering the quality of production of our animated micro video series that teaches financial and life skills. Second, by supporting the technical development of our platform - where we take the key concepts from our videos and translate them into actionable steps students can take as they progress through their goals (ex: guiding students on what to watch out for and how to select which financial and personal accounts best suit their desired lifestyle). Third, by expanding our network of mentors and partners that provide additional insights through our community forum and offer special discounts and benefits to their services. By enabling students to directly apply the knowledge they gain and build out their "lifestyle infrastructure", they'll be able to gain the confidence and knowledge necessary to transition into the real world.

LyfeLit would equip emerging adults with the knowledge to make informed decisions right out the gate, helping reduce personal debt and potentially decrease the county's poverty rate. It'll lead to healthier lifestyle choices, reducing healthcare costs and improving overall wellbeing. They'd gain key social skills fostering stronger relationships & community bonds. We'll also increase the accessibility and visibility of local programs, businesses and services. Through our network of partners, LA County's youth will be more engaged with already existing resources and be able to actually take advantage of them. The increased participation from this generation will heighten the overall ecosystem of nonprofits and local businesses. By scaling our service nationwide we'll create a better educated and more proactive community. With fewer people focused on just trying to survive, we'll be able to accelerate the development of social programs and improve the makeup of our societal institutions.

Success of the project will be measured with both qualitative and quantitative methods. We will continue our qualitative studies where we assess students' user experience towards the platform's functionality along with how helpful they feel our educational content is (In our most recent independent study, university students navigated through the platform and watched an episode with many of them describing it as "relatable (Marcel), motivational & exciting (Luis), insightful (Abbey).") On the quantitative side we will measure students': - Knowledge retention through gamified assessments. - The number of students that connect with career service & department advisors in comparison to previous year - Attendance rate of department events (resume workshops, etc.) in comparison to previous year - Conversion rate to opening accounts with our Partners