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Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Visa USA Donates Computers and Practical Money Skills Program to D.C. Schools in Need

Visa USA Donates Computers and Practical Money Skills Program to D.C. Schools in Need

Center City Consortium Schools Receive Computers and Comprehensive Financial Literacy Program

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa USA and U.S. Congressman John Boehner, (R-8-OH), announced today that the schools in the Archdiocese of Washington's Center City Consortium will receive 25 new laptop computers and Practical Money Skills for Life -- Visa's free, online personal finance curriculum. Visa USA also is donating free teacher training on the program.

Congressman Boehner, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, chose the Consortium as the recipient of computers and attended a special event with Immaculate Conception Catholic School students and Visa leadership so the students could learn more about the new computers and financial program. "Personal finance education is extremely important, and we are delighted to be here with Visa to donate these computers and give students access to Practical Money Skills for Life," said Boehner.

"It is a privilege to be here at Immaculate Conception school today to provide these resources to the Consortium," said Rhonda Bentz, vice president of public affairs at Visa USA. "At Visa we are dedicated to teaching students of all ages about smart money management."

The Center City Consortium, in partnership with the business community, has brought new resources, services, tuition aid, and capital improvements to revitalize 13 Catholic elementary schools in the nation's capital. At least 50 percent of Consortium families are at or below poverty level, 70 percent are single-parent households, and more than 70 percent are non-Catholic.

As part of Congressman Boehner's dedication to helping students in need, he has co-chaired, with Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Boehner-Kennedy Dinner since its inception in 2003. To date, the dinner has raised over $1,800,000 for Consortium schools.

"Our mission is to provide hope to some of the District's poorest and most disadvantaged families and this generous gift will go a long way toward helping our students reach their full potential," said Mary Anne Stanton, executive director of the Center City Consortium. "Every student in the District deserves the best available resources, and we appreciate Visa's assistance in helping our students build the skills that are necessary for their future."

Practical Money Skills for Life (http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/) is a comprehensive financial literacy program -- available in English, Spanish and Chinese -- that teaches young adults personal finance skills. The program reaches more than 100,000 schools and 37 million students in the United States.

The free educational resource provides teachers with lesson plans (kindergarten-college) mapped to their state education requirements, as well as teacher guides, overheads, instructional videos and CD-ROMs. For students, there are interactive games and calculators designed to teach responsibility and important concepts such as earning, saving, and budgeting money.

Visa USA donates computer equipment to schools and provides training for teachers on how to use the Practical Money Skills for Life curriculum. To date, Visa has donated more than 50 computer labs nationwide.

About Practical Money Skills for Life

The Practical Money Skills for Life curriculum is teacher tested and teacher approved. At the 2001 National Education Association Expo, teachers graded and evaluated the program. Nearly 100 percent of teachers who reviewed the website approved of it; 98 percent said they would recommend the site to other educators; and 94 percent gave the program a "B" or better. The curriculum currently reaches 2.5 million teachers, 37 million students, and 100,000 schools. Additionally, this program won the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators 2002 Achievement in Consumer Education Award (ACE) for the best innovative program for the private sector and was named an "Honorable Mention" by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy's 2002 Soaring$tar Award.

About Visa

Visa is the world's leading payment brand and largest payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and business customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives. Nearly 21,000 financial institutions worldwide rely on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate $2.5 trillion in annual transaction volume with virtually 100-percent reliability. Cardholders in more than 150 countries carry more than 1 billion Visa-branded cards, accepted at millions of locations worldwide. Within the United States, nearly 14,000 financial institutions issue 396 million Visa cards, accounting for more than $1 trillion in annual transaction volume. Visa offers a trusted, reliable and convenient way to access and mobilize financial resources - anytime, anywhere, anyway.


Source: Visa USA

CONTACT: Kristy Chandler of Creative Response Concepts, +1-703-683-5004,
ext. 136, or kchandler@crc4pr.com, for Visa USA

Web site: http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/


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