Social Storm and Rep. Ford launch free community series
Social Storm has partnered with State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford in sponsoring a financial literacy and business series aimed at helping the Austin community get the tools to make good money and business decisions.
The first of these workshops will be a financial literacy workshop on Feb. 22 at the Austin Branch Library at noon. The event is free and open to the public.
The workshop will cover strategies for building wealth and financial literacy while providing a networking opportunity. It will present concrete steps attendees can take to enhance their financial knowledge and business skills.
Corey Phillips, the founder and CEO of Social Storm, and Ean Alphonse, the co-founder, will be leading the workshop.
Social Storm is a media company focused on teaching financial literacy and entrepreneurship to teens and young adults. Its mission is to empower individuals with financial knowledge, reduce the wealth gap and create opportunities for financial independence.
Ford will be in attendance at the first workshop, reinforcing the initiative’s focus on financial empowerment.
“This first session focuses on financial literacy, but future discussions will cover topics such as artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship and marketing,” Phillips said. “We aim to provide actionable steps for community members to enhance their financial knowledge and business skills. I hope that community members continue to recognize that there is a platform for them to be heard and to gain opportunities to learn this information.
Phillips explained that the success of the event would be measured by how well attendees can understand and apply the information, rather than just hearing about investments and entrepreneurship.
“It doesn’t matter how much I talk about investments, how much I talk about entrepreneurship if there’s no way for people to take actionable steps and actually implement it in their life once they leave the workshop,” Phillips said.
Social Storm saw this as a meaningful chance to contribute to the economic growth of a neighborhood that has played a significant role in Phillip’s family’s history.
“Social Storm built a relationship with State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford and we’ve had family ties here – my mom and grandma grew up on the west side, specifically in Austin,” Phillips said. “Being in that neighborhood and having the chance to contribute to its economic growth just felt like an amazing opportunity we couldn’t pass up. Working with La Shawn was a great opportunity for us to give back to the community.”
Phillips noted that for much of this country’s history, financial and economic knowledge was primarily accessible to the ultra-wealthy or highly educated. However, he emphasized that with the rise of the internet, artificial intelligence and the increasing cost of living, it is more important than ever for people to understand and take control of their financial and economic situations.
“Oftentimes (financial information) is too complex and doesn’t really connect with or resonate with people who may not be ultra-wealthy or have a higher education. So, I saw an opportunity to create a platform that teaches young people in Gen Z and their parents about financial literacy in a way that’s easy to understand,” Phillips said.