HSFPP Shows Strong Numbers for Start of 2001-02 School Year

December 13, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Dunn
(608)231-4002
tdunn@cuna.com

MADISON, WI – With credit union efforts on its behalf bringing in orders for more than 6000 Student Guides in November, the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program^® (HSFPP) is already well on its way to reaching its 2001-02 goals.

By November 30, 2001, more than 38,100 students had enrolled in the HSFPP through credit union efforts, 58% of the 2001-02 school year goal of 65,000—and more than the total for the entire 2000-01 school year.

In addition, 392 schools are using the HSFPP through credit union efforts, 49% of the 2001-02 school year goal of 800 schools.

In Danville, Illinois, Susie Birge, vice president, and Judy Anderson, marketing director at Landmark Credit Union, are working with faculty at Danville, Sharlaman, and Bismarck Henning high schools to provide financial literacy training through the HSFPP.

"Teaching financial education is essential in today's fast moving, economically based society, so young people have some knowledge of the fundamentals of financial planning," said Susie Birge, vice president of Landmark Credit Union in Danville, Illinois. "When the schools heard that it [HSFPP] was provided at no cost, it was a no-brainer. They really took the ball and ran with it."

The National Endowment for Financial Education^® (NEFE^®) offers the HSFPP program in partnership with the Credit Union National Association, Inc. (CUNA) and the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, and participating land-grant university cooperative extension services.

An estimated 120,000 people age 25 and younger filed for personal bankruptcy in 2000—up from about 80,000 in 1991, according to a study by Elizabeth Warren, a law professor at Harvard Law. Experts say today's 18- to 30-year-olds have more debt than their forebears. While young people spend more money than they earn, they're not postponing getting married, having children, or buying a house. In fact, researchers have found that debt has little to do with when young people marry, have children, or buy a house.

Credit unions should remember to report their HSFPP classroom presentations through the National Youth Involvement Board web site (www.nyib.org, select "Classroom Report"). Doing so will ensure the availability of data on HSFPP units taught rather than just on orders of Student Guides.

For more information on the HSFPP and how to become involved, contact your league or visit CUNA’s Web site at www.cuna.org, and click on " Youth Education," or call 1-800-356-9655, ext. 4088.

With its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, Credit Union National Association serves more than 90% of America's 10,000 credit unions, which are owned by more than 81 million consumer members. Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives where people are worth more than money. For more information, visit www.cuna.org.

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