Youth Today – Stell Simonton
“By his own description Ted Gonder drifted through life as a teenager, aimless and “mediocre.” However, with the help of several mentors he pulled himself together, drastically improved his grades and was accepted at the University of Chicago. Once there, he saw impoverished neighborhoods surrounding the Hyde Park, Chicago, campus. He and a group of other college students decided to do reach out to teenagers in those neighborhoods. In 2009 their project spread to other campuses, and a year later it grew to become Moneythink, a nonprofit that engages college students as mentors to teach teenagers about money. “Regardless of the amount of opportunity a student receives … knowing what to do with the funds you have is incredibly important,” said Gonder, now the chief executive officer of Moneythink.(more)