By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

PELHAM—The Pelham Public Library is putting its Smart Investing @ Your Library grant to work, bringing two financial literacy programs to local schools in late April. The library will host one program at Riverchase Middle School on April 23 and one at Valley Intermediate School on April 25.

Earlier this year, the Pelham Public Library was one of 17 libraries across the country chosen to receive the $83,500 Smart Investing @ Your Library grant sponsored by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation and the American Library Association.

The Pelham Public Library has been using the grant to fund a variety of financial literacy programs focusing on family financial literacy. These programs are designed to target children ages three to 18 and their parents. As part of this grant-funded programming, the Pelham Public Library has sponsored financial literacy programs at local schools.

On April 23, the Library will bring speaker Tommy Johns to Riverchase Middle School to lead TeenBoss Money Workshop, a “high-energy interactive program” with a “personal finance lessons” geared towards middle school students, Pelham Public Library director Barbara Roberts said.

On April 25, the North Carolina based actor troupe, Poetry Alive!, will come to Valley Intermediate School to put on an interactive program bringing poetry to life through acting. According to Roberts, about one third of the poems they will perform have a “personal finance theme.”

“It’s a great program,” Roberts said. “It’s interesting and the kids really, really enjoy it.”

In addition to these upcoming programs, the Pelham Public Library used the Smart Investing @ Your Library grant to fund the Bank on Books program at Valley Elementary School, which challenged students to read as many extracurricular books as possible between Feb. 17 and March 7, and awarded winning classrooms with a set of age-appropriate financial books.

“Its only because of the grant that we have the funds and can bring in [these programs] and this talent from out of state,” Roberts said.