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Beyond Books: Building Generational Wealth with LMCU


When we talk about literacy, we're not just talking about reading words on a page. We're talking about reading the world: understanding contracts, navigating financial systems, and building the kind of knowledge that gets passed down from generation to generation. At The Competitive Readers Coalition (CRC), we've always believed that literacy is the foundation for everything. And now, through our partnership with Lake Michigan Credit Union (LMCU), we're expanding that foundation to include something equally transformative: financial literacy and homeownership.

Welcome to our Financial Literacy and Homeownership Program: the 5th pillar of CRC's 8 community programs, and one that's changing the game for families right here in St. Petersburg and across Pinellas County.

Why Financial Literacy Belongs in the Conversation

Here's the truth: you can be the best reader in the room and still struggle to build wealth if no one ever taught you how money actually works. For too many [families/caregivers] in our community, financial education wasn't part of the curriculum growing up. Credit scores, mortgage rates, savings strategies, investment basics: these topics were either avoided entirely or learned the hard way.

That's a gap we're closing.

Financial literacy isn't separate from the work we do at CRC: it's an extension of it. When a young man can read confidently, he can also read a lease agreement. When a father understands how to research and compare, he can evaluate homeownership options for his family. When a community is literate in both books and money, that community thrives.

Podcast Discussion on Literacy

Meet Our Partner: LMCU

We're proud to partner with Lake Michigan Credit Union (LMCU) on this initiative. LMCU isn't your average financial institution. As a member-owned credit union, their entire model is built around returning value to the people they serve: not shareholders on Wall Street.

What does that mean for our community? It means:

  • Down payment assistance programs that make homeownership more accessible

  • High-yield savings accounts that help families build emergency funds and plan for the future

  • Micro business loans that empower entrepreneurs to launch and grow right here in Pinellas

  • Financial education resources designed to meet people where they are

LMCU understands that building generational wealth isn't just about having money: it's about having the knowledge and support to make that money work for you and your children.

The Connection Between Literacy, Identity, and Economic Mobility

At CRC, we've always approached literacy as more than academic. It's about identity. It's about seeing yourself reflected in stories, in history, in possibility. When [young men/teens] in our programs pick up a book featuring characters who look like them, who come from neighborhoods like theirs, something shifts. They start to believe that success stories aren't just for other people.

Financial literacy works the same way.

When we bring LMCU representatives into our spaces: barbershops, community centers, schools: we're not just dropping information. We're creating culturally responsive conversations about money, ownership, and legacy. We're showing [parents/caregivers] and [young men/teens] that wealth-building isn't reserved for a certain kind of person. It's for them. It's for us.

A Black financial advisor explains financial documents to a father and son in a barbershop, highlighting community wealth-building.

Homeownership: The Wealth-Building Vehicle

Let's talk numbers for a second. Homeownership remains one of the most reliable ways to build and transfer wealth across generations. Home equity: the value you build as you pay down your mortgage: becomes an asset that can fund education, start businesses, or provide stability during hard times.

But here's the challenge: homeownership rates in Black and Brown communities have historically lagged behind, often due to systemic barriers like discriminatory lending practices, lack of access to financial education, and limited generational wealth to draw from for down payments.

Our Financial Literacy and Homeownership Program with LMCU is designed to chip away at those barriers by:

  1. Educating families on what it actually takes to buy a home (credit requirements, budgeting, the mortgage process)

  2. Connecting participants with LMCU's down payment assistance and homebuyer programs

  3. Providing ongoing support so that buying a home isn't just a one-time event, but the start of a sustainable wealth-building journey

We're not promising overnight results. Building wealth takes time. But we are promising that every [parent/caregiver] and [young man/teen] who comes through this program will leave with more knowledge, more confidence, and more options than they had before.

How This Fits Into CRC's 8 Programs

The Financial Literacy and Homeownership Program is one piece of a much larger puzzle. At CRC, we operate 8 distinct programs, each designed to meet our community's needs from a different angle:

  1. From the Barbershop to the Boardroom – Leadership and professional development rooted in trusted community spaces

  2. The Dads Treasure Chest – Curated literacy kits and books that make family reading simple and consistent

  3. The Library Barbershop Studio Model – Bringing literacy experiences directly into barbershops

  4. Youth Workforce Development and Training – Equipping the next generation of leaders for the professional world

  5. Financial Literacy and Homeownership Program (with LMCU) – Building generational wealth through financial education and pathways to ownership

  6. Barber-Preneur Program – Entrepreneurship training for aspiring barbers and small business owners

  7. 9-Week Summer Camp – Immersive summer programming focused on literacy, leadership, and life skills

  8. Our Fatherhood Initiative – A dedicated space to support and empower dads and father figures to lead with purpose in their families and communities

CRC Team Members at Youth Literacy Event

Each program connects back to our core belief: literacy changes lives. Whether we're putting books in the hands of young readers, training future entrepreneurs, or teaching families how to build wealth, we're working toward the same goal: a community where every young man and every family has the tools they need to succeed.

What Generational Wealth Really Means

Generational wealth isn't just about leaving money behind. It's about leaving knowledge, habits, and opportunities.

When a father learns how to budget and save through our program, he teaches his sons. When a family purchases their first home, they create stability that ripples outward: better schools, safer neighborhoods, stronger roots. When a young man understands compound interest at 16 instead of 36, he's got a 20-year head start on building his future.

That's the kind of wealth we're talking about. The kind that multiplies. The kind that can't be taken away.

Three generations of Black men stand proudly in front of their new home, symbolizing generational wealth and homeownership.

Get Involved: This Is a Community Effort

We can't do this alone. Building generational wealth across St. Petersburg and Pinellas County takes all of us: families showing up, partners like LMCU investing in our mission, and community members spreading the word.

Here's how you can be part of this movement:

The Bottom Line

Reading opens doors. Financial literacy builds houses. And when you combine the two? You build legacies.

At The Competitive Readers Coalition, we're proud to stand alongside LMCU in this work. Together, we're proving that wealth-building isn't out of reach for our community: it's within reach, and it starts with knowledge.

Beyond books. Beyond barriers. Building generational wealth, one family at a time.

Want to learn more about CRC's programs or get involved? Visit crcbooks.org today.

 
 
 

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