Quimani Green, WANDA Cohort 6 Graduate
This past April, Quimani Greene proudly graduated from WANDA with a newly established IRA that she will use for retirement or a first time home some day, much more savvy about saving and spending money and most importantly a new found belief that she can succeed more than she ever thought possible!!
Quimani, mother of three children aged 23, 15 and 10, first heard about WANDA in 2013, when as an Eligibility Technician for San Mateo County, she realized she qualified for WANDA just like a number of her clients qualified. She wanted to learn more about money management, and felt she needed to save much more for her future. At that time she was admitted to graduate school for her MSW, and was just starting her online classes. She worked hard to manage all her responsibilities including her 2 younger children, her job, her schooling and her commitment to WANDA all at the same time!
She found the WANDA classes both stimulating and inspiring. She particularly enjoyed the faculty and knowing that many of them were WANDA donors. She loved hearing and learning from her follow Moms. She believed for the first time that she could successful just like them. She started taking her children to class with her and was quite pleased that her family was learning with her! She is particularly proud of her daughter’s saving habits and finds that as a family they regularly discuss money management.
Asked what were some of the most important things she learned in WANDA she responded, “ To think about saving your money for special experiences rather than just objects or things, particularly if they are learning experiences for yourself or your family.” She added, “I also became more confident in my goal setting… I always knew I was goal driven- but I learned the theory behind goal setting and techniques and tools to put your plans into action”.
When Quimani joined WANDA, she knew she wanted to change jobs and advance in her career. But through WANDA’s emphasis on both “Education” and “Empowerment”, she set a very specific goal to secure a better paying job in her field before she graduated from WANDA. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Quimani has been recently selected as a “Child Welfare Worker” for Alameda County. She is very proud she now earns more than $20K/year more in this position than her previous job!
Quimani credits WANDA with her new notion of success: “The key for greater success for me is all about planning…buying necessities, investing in my future, and sticking to my goals”. She has this to say to other single mothers who haven’t yet found WANDA, “A program like WANDA gives you power because knowledge IS power. Single Moms like me need to know that anything is possible, you can achieve your dreams as long as you are committed to it and plan for it.”