USA Funds to Offer New College Awareness Video

USA Funds to Offer New College Awareness Video

Video featuring entertainer Nick Cannon encourages middle school students to plan for college

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds(R), the nation's leading education loan guarantor, announces that it will offer a new college awareness video to encourage middle school students and their parents to prepare academically and financially for higher education. The video, "16 Summers," features actor/entertainer Nick Cannon in a story about a 15-year-old girl who learns the importance of planning for the future by dealing with several issues commonly faced by teens.

A trailer of the new video is available from the USA Funds Web at www.usafunds.org/16summers .

The new video will be available beginning February 2009 as a component of the USA Funds early awareness program USA Funds Unlock the Future(R).

"USA Funds Unlock the Future encourages middle school students, especially those from families with no previous college experience, to dream big and to make higher education or training part of their dreams," said Robert C. Ballard, USA Funds senior vice president, program and corporate development. "We believe that the redesigned curriculum, combined with the new video, will better appeal to and make a real difference in the lives of students and family members who participate in the program."

USA Funds Unlock the Future provides middle school students and their families the basic information they need to plan for education after high school, as well as resources to help them prepare for higher education. In addition to the video, the program features a meeting planning guide, workbooks and other take-home items to encourage students and their families to explore and plan for their futures.

The curriculum is built around the video, which follows the character Dominique Taylor as she plans an extravagant "Sweet 16" birthday party. Life brings unexpected changes to the Taylor family, however. The family loses its home to foreclosure and is forced to move in with Dominque's grandparents. The family's experiences provide a springboard for discussion and activities designed to help students along the pathway to postsecondary education.

USA Funds provides the program without charge to schools, community agencies and faith-based organizations, with priority consideration given to those located in the eight states where USA Funds serves as the designated guarantor of federal education loans. Those states are: Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada and Wyoming.

During the past year, more than 270 schools and organizations have ordered USA Funds Unlock the Future materials, sharing the early awareness program with more than 16,600 students and 5,500 family members.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Funds is a nonprofit corporation that works to enhance postsecondary education preparedness, access and success by providing and supporting financial and other valued services. For more information about USA Funds, visit www.usafunds.org.

Source: USA Funds

CONTACT: Robert P. Murray, Vice President, Corporate Communications, USA
Funds, +1-317-806-1283, bob.murray@usafunds.org

Web site: http://www.usafunds.org/
http://www.usafunds.org/16summers

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