Over 1,800 Students Attend Financial Reality Fairs
Posted: August 06, 2026
Over 1,800 high school students across Pennsylvania took part in financial reality fairs at Lycoming College and Penn College in July.
Danville, PA -- Service 1st Federal Credit Union, in coordination with the Foundation for Free Enterprise, led programming for the second year for financial reality fairs held locally during the month of July.
This year, the financial reality fairs were held July 1, 8, 22 and 29 on the campus of Lycoming College and July 30 at Penn College. They hosted 1,822 students from across the State of Pennsylvania.
“Service 1st has always embraced our core value of supporting our community through financial literacy,” said Ben McDuffee, Assistant Vice President Muncy Market, Service 1st and coordinator for the financial reality fairs. “We hope that this experience helped equip the students to make informed financial decisions as they begin their financial journey.”
Weekly, 400+ students participated in the financial reality fairs. These fairs are mock budgeting experiences where students were faced with having to make real-life financial decisions about everything from their home, automobiles, and insurance to food, clothing, internet service and more.
“One unanticipated outcome of being involved with PFEW,” added McDuffee, “has been the privilege to connect individuals and organizations with each other, resulting in cooperation on other initiatives that enhance our community.”
These events were run with the guidance of 94 unique volunteers from over a dozen local businesses and organizations, donating over 600 combined hours of service. Service 1st provided 44 volunteers.
Students participating developed skills including:
- Real-world financial awareness
- Budgeting and money management
- Decision-making
- Responsibility and accountability
For additional information, contact Ben McDuffee, Assistant Vice President Muncy Market, Service 1st, at 570.271.6060 x 7461 or via email at mcduffeeb@service1.org.