How many of you had piggy banks when you were younger? Do you remember the joy you felt uncorking that ceramic pink belly and watching the steady stream of coins cover the floor? The moment you realized your savings had paid off and you’d soon be rockin’ those cute gem-stoned bangles you’d been eyeing?

You likely didn’t know it at the time, but your parents were teaching you financial literacy. They were preparing you for a world where everything is earned and knowing how to manage your finances can open up a world of opportunities. And thank goodness they did. Today, women hold 60 percent of all personal wealth and 51 percent of all stocks, according to Virginia Tech. Also, 90 percent of women still manage all household spending.

Unfortunately, many women and children in America are never given the opportunity to learn financial literacy and in America’s most at risk communities, they find themselves in a cycle of poverty handed down from one parent to another.

This month, we can help.  As educated, money-savvy citizens, we can help make sure children and youth in underserved communities, adults in at-risk areas and victims of domestic violence become more financially aware. It’s a cause that’s not just about money, but about ensuring all Americans have the opportunity for a basic quality of life.

You don’t need to be a Wall Street executive to make a difference. Through our friends at CharitySub, an online social enterprise out of Brooklyn, New York, you can contribute just a small $5.00 to one of three charities who are helping people in underserved areas become more financially literate and break the poverty cycle. Your $5.00 will collectively make a big impact!

Let’s make it the month of economic empowerment; not of the country, the bank or Wall Street (though we all know they could do with a few lessons in financial responsibility too), but economic empowerment of the 14 year old girl from the Bronx. The girl who lives below the poverty line, hungry, with a slim chance of a real education because her single mother’s welfare payments are almost gone before the check is cashed. Her family doesn’t have a bank account – in fact 20% of African American and Latino households do not – so once payment is in hand, it’s up to the girl’s mother, who has never been taught how to manage finances, to pay this month’s rent, put aside money for much needed medical appointments, and keep the electricity on for another week. Unfortunately the hardship is often all too much and the cash will have been spent before the rent is paid and food is bought for the girl and her two younger brothers. The girl looks for a job and is kept out of school most days to make up extra hours to supplement the family income. Like her mother, she’s never been taught how to manage the money she’s now earning and before long, the cycle repeats.

This is a sad tale, but one that’s unfortunately all too common.

So you get the picture – now what can you and the girls do to help?

When you and your friends join CharitySub this month, your $5.00 donation will go directly to one of three fantastic non-profits helping to teach kids in underserved communities about financial literacy.

Through CharitySub’s simple, collective giving, you and the girls can make a big difference!