A Stratford teen, Demarko Avant, and his mother have launched a nonprofit called Youth Money Management.

Their mission is to empower young teenagers and adults through financial education, and help them learn the importance of making informed decisions with their money.

The organization held a dinner Thursday night to celebrate the launch and promote financial awareness.

"This foundation is basically teaching other students around the state of Connecticut how to save, since it's not really taught a lot throughout the state," Avant said. "And we thought it'd be best if we teach it ourselves."

Avant looks to instill principles into others through workshops and programs directly from his book - called "The Teenage Boss: How to save, budget and invest as a teen" - which was a motivation behind the nonprofit.