Congrats to our Summer Empowerment Program Grads!

On August 6, Tzedek DC celebrated the summer graduates of its Financial Empowerment Program.

Program graduates heard from DC Court of Appeals Senior Judge Eric Washington and Program Alum Yoyo Kebede. Yoyo congratulated the participants on their motivation to consistently show up for themselves over the course of the 8-week program. Judge Washington encouraged the participants to be agents of change in their community by sharing that the “better we understand financial literacy, the better it will be for our whole community.”

Graduates from the in-person and virtual summer sessions took Yoyo and Judge Washington’s words to heart. Program participants are already taking actionable steps to achieve their financial goals, and several shared their excitement to teach others the tools and knowledge they learned in the program.

We are so proud of our program graduates’ commitment and engagement over the past 2 months and are excited to welcome them to the growing program alumni community!

A big thank you to our program partners at Industrial Bank for attending as well, our amazing graduation speakers, and special shout-outs to local Ward 8 restaurants, MLK Deli and Sweet Tooth Cafe & Cakes, for providing the meals and cupcakes for the graduation!

Launched in 2023, Tzedek DC’s Financial Empowerment Program supports young DC residents with the tools and knowledge to navigate everyday financial decisions and plan for their financial futures—from budgeting and saving to understanding credit, avoiding scams, and investments.

Each participant receives 16 hours of instruction, free access to credit and financial counseling, and $100 in seed funding for an investment account, plus three years of administrative costs covered, through Stackwell Capital. The funds are intended to help graduates apply what they’ve learned in a real-world setting.

Workshops are led by Tzedek DC financial counselors and attorneys, experts from our partners, entrepreneurs from the DC-area business community, and volunteer professionals from the financial services community.

For more information about the Financial Empowerment Program, including our upcoming sessions, visit tzedekdc.org/empowerment.