About Us
Highlights
March 12, 2009
State Farm Youth Advisory Board awards $100,000 to support FLF”s Entrepreneurship Program at SEED Public Charter High School
Representatives Maria Jackson (top row, farthest right) and Ne’Presha Watkins (to the left of Ms. Jackson) visited SEED Public Charter School to present the $100,000 grant award to the Entrepreneurship class. Students from the fall semester wrote the grant application to raise money for infrastructure, equipment, and inventory for the new SEED Store. Additionally, part of the State Farm grant will provide scholarships money for a handful of extraordinary students who have gone above and beyond in the strategic development and operation of the SEED Store. FLF is thrilled to work with SEED students to make their School Store successful as students apply the skills they learn in the Entrepreneurship class to operating a true business.
December 10, 2007
Supporters Join FLF for the First Annual Financial Skills for D.C. Youth Celebration
About 100 supporters joined the FLF board of directors and staff to celebrate the achievements of FLF students. In addition to participating in a poetry slam led by Kenny Carroll and D.C. Writers Corps, FLF guests enjoyed hearing from D.C. students about how financial education has changed the way they manage their money and make economic decisions.
Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, was presented with the Financial Literacy Awareness Award. During his acceptance speech, Congressman Frank urged the audience to promote financial education to avoid a repeat of the current subprime loan meltdown, which he attributed directly to a lack of financial management skills.
FLF presented the Educational Advancement Award to the Honorable Vincent C. Gray, Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia for his long-standing commitment to children. Councilmember Gray commended the work of FLF in D.C. schools to empower the next generation of D.C. residents.
Special guests included Ward 3 D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh and Dan Iannicola, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Education of the Treasury. Councilmember Cheh serves as Chair of the Public Services and Consumer Affairs Committee, sponsored the Payday Loan Consumer Protection Act of 2007, and continues to be a proponent of implementing financial education in D.C. schools. Through his position at Treasury, Mr. Iannicola advocates for improved financial education across the U.S., has invited FLF students to visit the Treasury building on several occasions, and supports FLF’s work in the D.C. community.
Several FLF partners joined us including Colleen Dailey, Executive Director of Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB), Hamid Elaissami, Director of Operations & Apprenticeships at Year Up, Anna Levy, Program Director of the Educated Consumer Project, and Kara Stacks, Principal of SEED Public Charter School.
This event would not have been possible without the support of Citi. FLF thanks Dara Duguay and Jamie Foroughi for their commitment to empowering D.C. youth through financial education.
April 24, 2007
SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins & Citibank’s Dara Duguay Visit SEED Public Charter School
Commissioner Atkins and Ms. Duguay spoke to SEED students about the importance of saving and budgeting. The students took part in an interactive lesson plan where they worked on a fictitious budget and calculated savings. This visit took place during the National Teach Children to Save Day – a campaign created to promote budgeting and saving among young consumers. For more information about the Teach Children to Save campaign, visit http://www.aba.com/consumer+
connection/teachchildrentosave.htm.
April 12, 2007
FLF Partners with Year Up
FLF has joined forces with Year Up to bring financial education to young adults taking part in the Year UP IT training program in Washington, D.C. Year Up is a highly selective program that trains young adults to work in the IT field and places them in internships with nationally recognized corporations. Although Year Up students are gaining skills to help them along in their careers, they lack the knowledge necessary to make sound financial decisions. FLF helps the students improve their credit scores, create budgets, and increase their saving. Students also gain valuable understanding of taxation and homeownership.
February 21, 2007
FLF Students Speak at Financial Literacy Summit
SEED students Jelani Gibson and Sierra Mack were selected to serve on a panel during the Financial Literacy Summit hosted by the Department of Education and the Department of the Treasury. Both spoke about how financial education has improved their prospects for the future and changed their spending and saving habits. Here are some of the students’ words:
“Our instructor, Ms. Carhart, also explained everything I wanted to know about credit and saving. I now know that keeping your money in the bank is better than hiding it in a shoe box because banks allow you to earn interest on your money. I also know how to better make personal decisions when it comes to choosing which type of bank account would suit my needs best. I know that if I want to be able to keep my investments liquid, I should put my money in a Money Market account rather than a CD (Certificate of Deposit) account. That way, if I have to take my money out to pay for an emergency, I will not incur a penalty for early withdrawal.
From what I learned about credit, I will always pay my bills on time and try to pay off my credit cards completely to keep from incurring extra interest costs. I know that it is important to show banks that you can borrow money and pay it back. Once you borrow money and pay it back responsibly, your credit score will improve and other banks will trust you and lend you money too.
The Financial Planning class taught me so much about how to manage my money. I know so many people who owe lots of money on their credit cards and do not know how to complete tax forms. I know how to manage my money and why it is important to build credit. When I get a job, I will be able to budget my money and not get in over my head. Financial Planning has taught me skills that I can practice up through my adulthood and these skills will help me succeed.”
Sierra Mack
10th grade student at SEED Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.
“I am very thankful to the Financial Literacy Education Foundation for giving me the opportunity to learn such valuable information. Before I took the Financial Planning class last semester, I had limited knowledge of things such as credit, tax forms, or how the stock market worked. Now I have knowledge on many aspects of financial management. I have also learned skills that will prove invaluable as I progress further in my life. In my Financial Planning class, my peers and I learned how to apply for jobs, write resumes and cover letters, and do our own taxes using W-2’s, W-4’s, and 1040EZ’s.
Many of my friends and family wish they had taken a class to learn about credit and tax forms when they grew up instead of learning the hard way. Some family members of mine have ruined their credit because they had run up their credit cards and had not paid them off. Other people I know let the government keep the federal withholdings from their paychecks because they never filed for a tax return, even though they were entitled to the refund. The Financial Planning course taught me how to avoid careless financial mistakes like these and more.
Because of the Financial Planning class, I have gained great knowledge and insight on how to manage my finances. I now know how to avoid falling into debt and not bring financial problems onto myself. This is great because I see people much older than me struggle with their finances and I don’t want this to happen to me. I am grateful that the Financial Planning class has given me the tools and building blocks that I can use to manage my life and to help my friends and family members with their finances too.”
Jelani Gibson
9th grade student at SEED Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.
March 29, 2006
Visit to the Department of the Treasury
Students from FLEF’s Financial Management course at School Without Walls enjoyed a private tour of the U.S. Treasury Building and a special lecture by Dan Iannicola, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Education at the Treasury. Mr. Iannicola engaged the students in a lively and educational discussion on managing personal finances and the power of credit. The students also learned about the history of the Treasury and received goodie bags containing postcards, shredded money, and information pamphlets during the tour. Many thanks to Bobbie Gray for making the visit to the Department of the Treasury possible.