Scarce Resources Need Strategies

Children learn about money through an experience we can all relate to: “I want it. How do I get it?” To plan ahead for things they want in life, from everyday needs to ambitious goals, kids need strategies. And the sooner they can learn them, the better. For the 2.5 billion people worldwide who live on less than $2 a day, basic financial literacy is even more critical. Particularly for women, who, given the chance, are instrumental in moving families out of poverty and toward a more prosperous future.

Dream Save Do

At Sesame, we’re sowing the seeds of financial empowerment around the world and empowering the youngest savers. Our Dream, Save, Do initiative helps children plan ahead to achieve their dreams and empowers them to navigate a lifetime of choices, financial and otherwise. Full of engaging videos, fun games and activities, and tips for parents and caregivers, our online toolkits inspire kids to set personal goals and make a habit of saving, no matter how modestly.

Money Minded Monsters

Kids learn about money by example. So we enlist Sesame’s furry pals as role models for saving, spending, and sharing. Like Elmo, who with help from his mom and dad learns to navigate the fuzzy line between Wants and Needs. Or Grover, who teaches his friends that good things, like homemade soup, are worth waiting for. An international cast of female Muppets—Bel from Brazil, Chamki from India, Lola from Mexico, and Lily from China—keeps girls at the center of the story…and their families’ financial plans.

Rallying Families to Reinvest

We brought these timely lessons to Japanese families rebuilding after an earthquake in 2016. At outreach events in Kumamoto Prefecture, we distributed “Dream, Save, Do” materials to help kids and parents in the affected area strategize together about their future plans. The effort included family-friendly workshops and activities and culminated with “Sesame Street in Kumamoto,” a celebratory video and panel discussion that captured a community rallying after crisis to come out stronger.

The Bottom Line

Today Dream, Save, Do is at work in nine countries reaching more than 140,000,000 children and their caregivers through resource kits, mass media and community programs. For budding savers and spenders, this investment in financial empowerment is a down payment on a lifetime of big plans, healthy choices, and dreams within reach.