Rend Lake Students Get Free Money Workshops
Illinois community college students can use campus financial and wellness sessions to manage costs while enrolled.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Financial Aid
Rend Lake College hosted its Fall 2026 Community Enrichment Week, a series of student presentations on wellness, mental health, financial guidance, and community resources delivered by college staff and community partners.
Why it matters
For Illinois students, these sessions connect campus resources with practical money skills and support services that can help students stay enrolled while managing costs. The week reflects how community colleges are pairing financial guidance with wellness programming to support students beyond the classroom.
Presenters included a licensed professional counselor with 15 years of experience and a student success coordinator with 20 years at the college, while a Financial Management Workshop was led by Banterra Bank representatives Jared Leslie, Aaron Fitzgerrel, and Amy Wilton on Thursday. The source does not list fees, eligibility rules, or enrollment totals for these sessions.
The players
Rend Lake College
A public community college in Ina, Illinois, serving students across southern Illinois.
Banterra Bank
A regional bank that led a Financial Management Workshop for students during the week.
SAFE
A regional prevention organization that presented the Healthy Relationships program covering several southern Illinois counties.
Spero Family Services
A family services organization whose representatives presented a grief session during the week.
The details
The week was built as a series of presentations rather than a single event, with each day or midweek slot covering a different area of student life. Monday featured Sarah Draper on community resources, Tuesday featured Becca Chavez's self-care session "Running on Empty: A College Student's Guide to Self-Care," and midweek SAFE presenters Molly Donoho and Regina McKinney ran a "Healthy Relationships" prevention program. On Thursday, Melissa Webb and Jacey House of Spero Family Services presented "Grief is More Than Goodbye," and Banterra Bank hosted its financial workshop for students.
Timeline
Monday: Sarah Draper presented on community resources during Fall 2026 Community Enrichment Week.
Tuesday: Becca Chavez led the self-care session for students.
Midweek: SAFE co-presenters led the Healthy Relationships prevention program.
Thursday: Spero Family Services held its grief session and Banterra Bank led its financial workshop.
Education Landscape
Rend Lake College's week fits a broader pattern in which community colleges bundle financial guidance with mental health and wellness programming to address the cost and stress pressures that affect enrollment and persistence. Illinois community colleges have increasingly used campus events like this one to connect students with outside partners such as banks and regional prevention groups.
Students at Rend Lake College and other Illinois campuses can ask their student-success or financial-aid office whether similar financial management workshops or wellness sessions are offered in future terms. Students who want help budgeting alongside their coursework can attend campus financial sessions and speak with a financial-aid office about the aid options available to them.
The takeaway
Community college support now often extends past tuition and textbooks into budgeting and wellness, so students should check what campus workshops their school offers each term. Asking the financial-aid office which free money-management sessions are scheduled is a practical first step.
Further reading
For context on how Illinois students pay for college, explore the Financial Aid section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Southern.
