People's United Introduces...Reality Check

People’s United Bank is pleased to introduce Reality Check…..a fair designed to prepare high school seniors for life beyond the classroom and we are looking for volunteers.  This program was brought to the Danvers High School in Danvers, MA by Kevin Noyes, Vice President with People’s United Bank.  He has partnered with the Danvers High School 6 times over the last 6 years and we are lucky to bring this program to Mohawk Trail Regional High School.

What is it?

The Reality Check Fair will give the Mohawk Trail Regional High School seniors and juniors a hands-on lesson on the basics of budgeting.  It will be a four-hour, thoroughly interactive exercise intended to prepare graduating students for the demands of balancing their income and expenses and making financial decisions that will impact their future.

How does it work?

Upon arrival at the Reality Check Fair, each student will be taken to age 25, given a fabricated credit history, a job and salary fact sheet and the tools they will need to participate in the fair.  The premise: each student must manage their money for “one month”, working within the salary and credit history provided, and must make decisions about housing, health care, food and entertainment.  Along the way, students will run into unexpected real-life situations that will either improve (i.e., tax refund received) or worsen (i.e., unexpected car repairs are needed) their financial situation for that month.

How can I get involved?

The Reality Check Planning Committee is looking to enlist volunteers for this very special event as we will need as much participation as possible to make this event another successful one.  It’s a great way to help graduating seniors and juniors better understand financial decision-making, and a great way to utilize some volunteer hours.

What are the details?

The date:  Thursday, March 21st  (with snow date of Friday, March 22nd)

The location:  Dining Commons and Main Lobby, Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, MA. 

The time:  8AM until 1:00PM

The audience: approximately 160/plus Mohawk Trail Regional High School seniors and juniors

Booths involved in the event include:

oCareer Counseling

oCharity

oClothing

oCredit/Lending (helping students apply for credit)

oCredit Counseling (helping students when they’ve overspent)

oEducation

oFood and Nutrition

oFun, Fun, Fun

oFurniture

oHousing

oInsurance

oInvestment

oSavings

oTransportation

oRetirement/401K

oReality Check

Who do I contact to volunteer for People’s United Reality Check Fair:

If you are interested, please notify Lynn Cantell or Kevin Noyes (telephone numbers below) and they will send you the Volunteer Registration form with your booth preference.  We will try to honor your request, if possible.  

You will then forward a copy of the Volunteer Registration form to the attention of Becky Skerry either via e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via mail to One Conant Street, Danvers, MA 01923 or via fax to 978-739-4998.

Additionally, for your knowledge, there will be a volunteer orientation in March 2013. 

For additional information about volunteer opportunities or if you should have any questions relative to the Reality Check event, please don’t hesitate to contact Lynn Cantell at 413-735-6708 or Kevin Noyes at  978-739-0253.