Throughout her banking career, Cheryl Barnes has seen how a lack of financial education can lead to disaster. She’s watched as a young woman who added her boyfriend to her checking account as an act of love saw her account emptied after an argument.  She’s seen an elderly couple lose most of their life savings to a manipulative nursing home employee.  She’s taught a widow who had never managed her own money, or even owned a checking account, to handle her finances after her husband’s death.

Cheryl’s employer, Mutual of Omaha, encourages their staff to become involved in the community.  When she and her team were looking for volunteer opportunities, the chance to teach financial education to women seemed like a perfect fit. 

“I was lucky enough to have had a strong role model in my mother who showed me that a woman was able to handle her own finances and not give away her power to others, so I was able to help my clients to understand this as well,” said Cheryl.

Cheryl has served our members and partner agencies as a RiSE facilitator, a Tax Credit Educator, and a budget coach for nearly seven years. "Each time I partner with WiNGS I feel I that I take away more than I am able to give,” Cheryl said.  “I don’t think I could ask for anything more.”

Cheryl is the 2017 recipient of the Ebby Halliday Volunteer of the Year Award, and will be honored at the WiNGS Mentors & Allies Luncheon on May 1.   

  A Path to a Better Life Starts Here.