In Orange County, 31% of households are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), earning above the poverty line but still unable to afford basic living costs (Heart of Florida United Way). Financial literacy is often taught as a single, one-off touchpoint rather than reinforced over time, leaving gaps that compound from childhood into adulthood.

Our library's 2024 strategic planning process surveyed over 2,500 local residents, who identified economic opportunity as a priority need. This directly shaped the creation of JobSeekers, our adult multi-course track supporting job search and career transitions and reinforced the case for building financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills across every age group, not just adulthood.

This is a birth-to-career pipeline, building financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills at every developmental stage. Babies and toddlers attend storytimes introducing counting and entrepreneurship vocabulary. Preschoolers join Ready, Set, Preschool (counting, shopping, currency) and STEAM Junior: Money Science. Kids ages 6-12 build on this through BizKidsClub, an eight-part series teaching entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and job skills through hands-on learning. Teens ages 13-18 join Next Steps for Teens, developing resume writing, interview skills, and personal finance for a successful transition into adulthood. Adults complete the pipeline through JobSeekers, a multi-course track supporting job search and career transitions.
What makes this unique is the intentional continuity: rather than age-isolated programming, each stage reinforces and builds on skills introduced earlier, creating a single developmental thread from birth through adulthood.

Since launching in January 2026, JobSeekers (our adult track) has drawn 246 attendees, with survey respondents overwhelmingly rating it 9 or 10 when asked "Would you recommend this program?" Participants noted: "Learned a lot at a comfortable pace." "Good class and excellent instructor." "Excellent. Reviewed old job searching skills and informed me of new tasks and assists. Had not searched for jobs in 10 years."

BizKidsClub has been offered 774 times since launch, drawing 5,114 total attendees (avg. 7 per session). Its Mini Marketplace event has been held twice, averaging 249 attendees each time. Next Steps for Teens launched this summer and has already been offered 35 times, drawing 89 attendees. Supporting LibGuides reinforce these programs: Jobs and Careers receives about 509 hits monthly (6,115 annually), and Personal Money Matters receives 19 monthly (223 annually).