Huntington Beach nonprofit continues teaching the power of the dollar

Huntington Beach native Dylan Jin-Ngo has seen his Youth Investors Corp. nonprofit come a long way since he founded it in 2019.

He’s now planning for the evolution from a summer financial literacy course for youth to a year-round school program.

Youth Investors Corp. held its fifth program awards ceremony Wednesday night at the Huntington Beach Central Library. Eight young adults from around Southern California were surprised as $500 grant recipients, including two from Huntington Beach.

Surf City residents Sherlyn Castillo, 19, and Karis Oishi, 15, were among the honorees.

Karis Oishi of Huntington Beach received a $500 grant from Youth Investors Corp.

(Courtesy of Youth Investors Corp. )

Castillo, a Huntington Beach High graduate who’s an incoming sophomore at Long Beach State, said learning about financial literacy has been important as a first-generation college student. She found out about the program after receiving an email from the Huntington Beach Public Library.

“I’m really grateful for winning this grant,” Castillo said. “I didn’t really expect it. I came into this program wanting to learn more about how to invest, learn how to apply for credit cards, learn about insurances. I was pretty surprised when I won, but I’m grateful that I did.”

Jin-Ngo, now 19 and an incoming sophomore economics student at Harvard University, said all eight of the students were offered internships at financial firm TSG Wealth Management.

About 80 students were involved in the summer program this year, as a partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation proved beneficial in expanding it. Jin-Ngo said that Youth Investors Corp. has helped more than 1,000 youth learn about financial literacy since its inception.

Founder Dylan Jin-Ngo speaks at Wednesday night’s Youth Investors Corp. awards ceremony.

(Courtesy of Youth Investors Corp. )

“Now we’re also working with the schools in California,” Jin-Ngo said, adding that the program will start later this month. “It’s going to be a much more intensive process throughout the school year ... Our mission is really to rebuild the American Dream. We have so many bright, talented and really motivated students throughout California who simply don’t have the resources to understand what could be on the horizon, and what to even do in the next step.”

He said the nonprofit has a new three-prong model that continues to focus on education but also funding opportunities and pairing the kids with internships or jobs at local financial institutions.

Ava Schreiber, an incoming senior at Mater Dei High, serves as the Youth Investors Corp. Orange County regional director and taught in the program this summer.

“Teaching in this program has helped me learn more as well,” she said. “We taught from middle school kids all the way to people in their 20s. I think [financial literacy] is useful for kids in any age, any grade.”

Anahi Alacala, 19, and Destiny Montella, 12, of Whittier represented the oldest and youngest ages of the eight grant recipients.

(Courtesy of Youth Investors Corp. )

Jin-Ngo has continued to learn more about the financial world. Earlier this summer, he had an internship that allowed him to work at the House Committee on Ways and Means in Washington, D.C.

“I learned a lot about tax rebates, the tax code and how useful it is for the students here at Youth Investors Corp.,” he said. “I brought back so much information. There’s so much money that’s left on the table for so many families who don’t know how to navigate the tax code in America ... I’ve included a whole new module now in our program that specifically discusses how to file these tax rebates for low-income families.”

Wednesday night’s ceremony featured remarks from Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark, TSG Wealth Management Partner Allen Schreiber and state Assemblywoman Diane Dixon.