Learning From the Best

Last night I attended the semi-monthly Ally meeting for the Bridges Out of Poverty program.This is a national program that is successfully being run in Findlay, Ohio, by Carol Taylor.  Usually we come together as a large group and then break apart into smaller groups. The makeup of the participants is both allies (mentors from the middle class) and grads (those who are taking steps to move out of generational poverty). 

Our group was a little smaller last night, so we all decided to stay in the larger group for the whole time.  The grads recently had a presentation about couponing, so we asked them to tell us about that topic.  Which then branched off into all kinds of savings ideas.  I found out that Kroger is having a meat sale this week on certain cuts, including chicken for 99 cents per pound.  I'm still trying to verify this info, but it seems like a trip to Kroger is in store!

As I was driving home, I thought about how this change in the meeting style, allowed for all of us to learn from each other instead of the just allies giving the advice.  In fact, I would hazard a guess that we allies learned more from the grads last night than they learned from us.

Right at the end, Karen, one of the grads, said, "If you want to know how to do something, just ask a poor person because they have to be creative in figuring out how to do things with little or no money."   

I love that attitude and feel lucky that I get to know so many amazing people through this program. Networking is what it's all about!