Today we’d like to introduce you to David M. Torrence.
Hi David, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
There is an impactful quote that says, “Change occurs when ideas pivot to execution.” With that said, my story is one of pivoting. It starts with a young man falling in love with sports like most boys from underserved communities. Thus, during my adolescence, my dream was to play collegiately and, if possible, professionally. I entered my junior year as a star basketball player, ready to earn my notoriety. Unfortunately, my dreams of sports were derailed by being diagnosed with a heart disorder leading to me having open heart surgery. It was at this point that life introduced me to my first pivot. I had to pivot my purpose and vision to a new place. It was a difficult thing to do at such a young age. I developed what I call PTSD (Post Traumatic Sports disorder), not knowing what to do with my life outside of sports. From this point on my journey has been one of realigning my faith and finding my purpose and vision. After attending college, starting multiple businesses, and being blessed with mentors, my biggest pivot came in 2018 when I started my non-profit. The genesis of the non-profit was supplying my former middle school supplies year-round. At the time, I knew of organizations giving for the start of the school year, but unfortunately, the time supplies are needed the most was at the middle and end of the school year. I felt honored having the opportunity to serve an under-resourced community. Though this seemed to be a small initiative, the impact was big throughout the school due to it being uncommon for alumni to come back and give in such a way.
Around this same time, I was introduced to investing by a family member who was a financial analyst. Though the initial conversation fell upon deaf ears, I did find my way back to it and became hyper-focused on building my intellectual property and mental equity. Thus, for the next 3 years, I saved my salary, learned, made mistakes, re-invested in my failures, and found myself in the position to leave my W-2 employment, transition to “early retirement,” and create for a living. I create for myself and my family but, most importantly, my community.
From there, I have been standing in my purpose as a philanthropist educating my community on investing as a sustainability model for building economic mobility. The journey has been fulfilling because pivoting is scary and initially paralyzing, but to be steadfast and make it through the ups and downs gives me the confidence to see true regardless of appearance.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road of being an investor and philanthropist is one of privilege. When I think of struggles within this veil my mind goes to the difficulties of the education system and educating a community that operates from a position of trauma and has a history of bad relationships to money. I do believe that this is not the perspective the communities wish to operate from but it is a reality that exists. As a result, the most recent struggles are the general public’s misunderstanding of “financial literacy” and confusing it with personal finance. Though “personal fiancé” is an aspect of financial literacy the spectrum in which it exists is much bigger. For example, the most recent Dorothy Hurkill Act introduced by governor DeSantis requires high schools to complete a financial literacy course as a credit to graduate but 90 percent of the curriculum is personal finance. I do believe this act is one step in the right direction but at the same time these curriculums dilute the attention span of minds on financial literacy because the focus is on budgeting, savings, credit cards, and mutual funds. Ignoring poor relationships with money, lack of understanding around time being the greatest commodity, and your mind as the most valuable asset. Therefore, struggle is the unlearning and relearning that exist for myself/organization and the current infrastructure of schooling. Being misinformed has the same effect of being uninformed.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about KP Cares Foundation Inc?
KP Cares Foundation Inc. is a youth development organization located in South Florida. Our mission is aimed to provide motivational and educational resources to communities. This is built through collaboration and hosting forums and seminars. KP Cares has hosted multiple in-person and hybrid seminars with attendees spanning globally from the United States all the way to Africa and the United Kingdom. We are notably known for our high school investing program birthed from our pilot program “Talented Tenth.” “Talented Tenth,” coined after W. E. B. Du Bois is a program co-founded by Mrs. Sharon Hughes, Family Services Program Director at L. A. Lee YMCA. This program provides four years of mentoring to ten hand-selected students. KP Cares understands that the impact is not built with one-time workshops but through consistent inspiration, motivation, and education.
The high school investing program is a disruptive 8-week educational program that gives students the critical financial skills necessary to navigate the economy of the future. Our education was created for divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is the ability to take a complex question, brainstorm ideas, and come up with a creative and original answer. While there are many great starting points for any learning, there isn’t one correct answer to this question. Here our aim is not to simply give information that you can find for free on the internet. We facilitate learning and discussions that encourage students to use their creativity and problem-solving ability in real-world scenarios that apply to investing and financial literacy. In short, we will develop students’ ability to think for themselves and, in doing so, open the doorway for bigger and better goals than students previously thought were possible. What I am most proud of in regard to our program is that this year we launched a global program. This program has students from the U.S., Canada, Virgin Islands, and Germany. We ended up having a 94% retention from registration (200) to enrollment (189) is a testament to the type of students and parents that connect with our mission, programs, and resources. With that said, we understand that the job is not over. We need all 189 students to start and finish. The real work is just beginning, but for now, we will rejoice in this win.
In addition, KP Cares has created a way to help prepare and equip parents with the proper resources needed to initiate their child’s learning of investing. This is done through our #1 selling product, the “Stock Market Activity Book”: A resource for elementary-age students to get early exposure to various investing concepts. What makes this book revolutionary is the age group we are servicing. In 2017, a study by the Association of Home and Community Services revealed that there is a significant difference in performance-cognitive ability between students who have pre-exposure to education and those who do not. Most investing education skips elementary and direct the majority of resources to high schoolers. KP Cares Stock Market Activity Book is uses storytelling, coloring, pictures, math, puzzles, and games for early exposure. We find that using traditional games and relevant storytelling with new concepts allows early childhood education of investing to be easily digested. Our stock market activity book has been acknowledged in the community through KP Cares winning the Urban League of Broward County 7th annual minority business pitch competition. We were rewarded with a grant to expand our reach, programming, and resources.
The next stage of KP Cares maturation is to continue to build our strategic partnerships. In 2022 we were able to bring our program and stock market book to Broward College, YMCA, and Jack & Jill. Through our strides, we are now partnering with institutions and other organizations to add equity to the community. Though we have been putting education back into the community, our goal is to complement that education with putting equity into the community. So that each student we touch can have the skill to invest and the equity to start building wealth and increase their family’s economic mobility.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
One childhood memory I have of spending time with my dad is when I was around 12 years old, and every Saturday morning, we would wash cars together. He owned a small car wash business and would take me with him to help out. I remember not being so excited to miss TV on those mornings. I’d wake up early and put on an old t-shirt and shorts, ready to work with my dad. The process of washing cars was simple, but it was hard work and I loved it. My dad taught me that hard work and attention to detail were key to life and making money. He would always say, “if you want to do something well, you have to put in the time and effort.”
As we worked, my dad would also teach me about different aspects of life. He would show me how to manage my time while working and how to deal with customers. He taught me how to be friendly and polite, listen to customers, and find solutions. He would tell me stories about how he started washing cars as his first business and expanded to owning real estate and a barbershop highlighting multiple streams of income and self-sufficiency.
I learned so much from my dad during those Saturday morning car washes. Years have passed, and I have grown up, but those memories of spending time with my dad, washing cars, and learning life lessons and business skills will always stay with me. They taught me the importance of hard work, honesty, attention to detail, and how those values can help you achieve success, both in business and in life. They also taught me about the importance of family and the value of spending time with loved ones. I will always be grateful for those experiences and for the lessons, my dad taught me.
Pricing:
- Stock Market Activity Book: Wallstreet Twins $14.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kpcaresfoundation.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kpcaresfoundation/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kpcares/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmtorrence/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmtorrence
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kpcaresfoundation
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Stock-Market-Activity-Book-Wallstreet/dp/1735635502/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1N46ZNEQVG0HY&dchild=1&keywords=stock+market+coloring+book&qid=1613950988&sprefix=stock+market+coloring%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-3
