Community outreach is one of the cornerstones to APA’s Local Chapters. It is through this type of outreach that chapter members and the community can come together in support of a worthy cause. There are many ways in which APA Local Chapters can give back.
One of the easiest ways to give back is by teaching paycheck basics to young adults with APA’s Money Matters course. Anyone can volunteer to teach , and since APA provides all the materials to present virtually or in-person, it is easy to do! Reach out to local high schools, trade schools, the local YMCA, or a Girls & Boys Club of America using this sample letter. In 2021, over 30 sessions were taught by 27 chapters! Let’s aim for more in 2022!
While combatting financial literacy in your community is a great reward, there are other benefits to teaching money matters!
- Receive a thank you package from Paychex
- Earn 1 RCH after teaching a lesson
- Receive a special citation from APA's Executive Director, Dan Maddux
- Be entered in the National Education Champions Contest if you are a member of a local APA chapter
Another way to help the community is through collecting food, school supplies, and clothing donations. The Northeast Wisconsin Chapter, choose to donate to the YMCA in 2021 with a clothing and hygiene product drive where they produced a mountain of donations. At another event, members got together to cut and tie 20 kid fleece blankets, more on that project here, which were also donated to the YMCA. 
Now that in-person events are coming back, efforts like a charity walk or volunteering at a food bank or animal shelter are on the table once again. A popular effort amongst chapters is to give back through the Stuff the Bus program. Collecting school supplies, hopefully enough to “stuff the bus”, for distribution in local areas, provides chapters the opportunity to not only be visible with their charitable efforts but to also partner with other charitable organizations and media outlets. 
Speaking of in-person gatherings, the 2021 winner for the Educational and Community Outreach contest, the Greater Milwaukee Chapter, organized a walk to benefit breast cancer research. They also partnered with a local coffee shop, selling its coffee, in which the proceeds benefited two veteran’s programs in the Milwaukee area.
All and any of these efforts can contribute to your chapter’s entries into APA’s National Payroll Week 2022 contests and the annual APA Chapter Contests. So, come together and give back!
Share with us below your chapter’s charitable efforts for this year.
