While many students spent spring break relaxing, some local youth spent their week leveling up—literally.

The LEVEL UP Financial Literacy Youth Camp, hosted by the nonprofit Up From Slavery Initiative, kicked off April 7 at Catalyst Public Schools in Bremerton. The free, hands-on program aims to teach children and teens how to manage money, understand the value of a dollar and build healthy financial habits.

“Our organization was founded in 2020, and we understood from the beginning that 70 percent of the problems facing people of color stem from making money and knowing what to do with it,” said Darryl Riley, CEO of the initiative. “So financial literacy and access became a major pillar of our services.”

Teresa Jones, newly elected board president of the initiative, a retired social worker and college counselor, said the camp’s mission aligns closely with her passion for social justice and youth development. “Even if I weren’t a social worker, I’d still care deeply about what’s happening in my community,” Jones said.

The camp, first launched in 2021, began as a learning experience for youth ages 5 to 8. Since then, it has grown into a multi-day program held each spring break and summer, reaching more than 350 children and teens to date. This year marks the camp’s first time serving students in grades 6–12.

Each participant receives a $200 checking and savings account at Connection Credit Union upon completing the camp—an incentive Riley said helps students start building real-world financial relationships. “It’s unfair to teach kids about money and not give them anything to play with,” he said.

The program runs from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. daily and includes lunch, along with rotating sessions filled with games, music, videos and interactive lessons. One highlight is a simulated store where campers can spend their earnings—or save and earn interest. “We created our own curriculum that’s culturally relevant, so it really resonates with the kids,” Riley said. “They’re learning the difference between wants and needs, how to budget and how to make their money grow.”

Jones helped stock the store with prizes and supplies this year, opting to support behind the scenes instead of teaching. “I’ve been teaching my whole life,” she said with a laugh. ” This time, I told Darryl, ‘Give me something else to do.’ Helping with the store was a fun way to support the kids’ learning from another angle.”

For Chrysztyna Rowek, the camp’s newest team member and administrative assistant for the initiative, stepping into the program has been both eye-opening and deeply rewarding. “As soon as I joined, I started helping parents get signed up, sending out information, and connecting with families,” she said.

“Being there and watching the kids figure out how to budget for housing, childcare, and groceries – it was incredible. Some of them picked luxury cars at first, then had to go back and switch to a used car or take the bus. That’s real-world learning in action.”

The program also includes lessons on entrepreneurship, a concept Riley knows firsthand. A formerly incarcerated man who moved to Kitsap County from Chicago in 1998, Riley turned his life around by starting his own businesses. Today, he owns a barbershop, a janitorial company and a Snap Fitness franchise in East Bremerton.

“I like to say I have a PhD in the streets,” he said. “I grew up in poverty and have been impacted by the justice system. But entrepreneurship was the result of good financial literacy, and that’s what I’m trying to pass on.”

The camp is powered by community leaders, financial experts and Kitsap County Treasurer Peter Boissonneau. Connection Credit Union not only supports youth programs but also “Bank and Beyond Boss”—a financial literacy initiative for individuals recently released from incarceration.

The impact is tangible. Riley recalled a parent who came in after the first day of camp, stunned that her son had stopped her at a store and said, “That’s a want, not a need.”

That kind of moment stuck with Rowek, too. “One mom told her kids to ‘go learn about money the way mommy never did,’” she said. “It really touched me- because this isn’t just about the kids. It’s about changing the way whole families think about money.”

For Jones, the camp’s lessons around money are especially timely. “We don’t really see money anymore, it’s all electronic,” she said. ” Young people need that sense that money is real, that it comes and goes. This camp helps them understand that in a hands-on, meaningful way.”

“We knew then it was working,” Riley said. “The kids aren’t just learning—they’re applying it.”

For many, the camp is the beginning of a lifelong financial journey. “Imagine a kid keeping that account active until they’re 18 or 21. Even if they only work at McDonald’s, they’ll have a credit score and relationship with a bank that could allow them to buy a house,” Riley said. “That’s generational wealth, and that’s the shift we’re working toward.”