Capital One Engages Washington, DC Area Students in Series of Innovative Financial Education Programs
Basic financial literacy and money management skills are crucial building blocks for success, but recent studies conducted by the Jump$tart Coalition, have shown that too many young people are still not prepared to manage their finances when they graduate high school. Capital One is working with Junior Achievement to address this gap with Finance Park and Sliding Into Succe$$.
"At Capital One, we believe that it is never too early to start helping young people understand the importance of their financial decisions - and this middle school population is often overlooked," said Richard Woods, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs. "These innovative, experiential programs bring money management out of the classroom and into a fresh environment that engages students on a personal level and makes a longer-lasting impact."
Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park
More than 1,500 students from Washington, D.C. and Fairfax County Public Schools are expected to visit Finance Park over the next four months. Finance Park was created to help seventh- and eighth-graders gain a realistic understanding of financial issues by combining JA classroom instruction and an interactive mobile life-simulator.
When students enter Finance Park after participating in several preparatory classroom lessons, they assume the roles of adults who are the sole providers for their families. Each student has an income and existing financial obligations. During the day-long activity, they make choices to provide for their families' needs while staying within a budget, juggling housing, utility, transportation and credit card expenses. Along the way, they'll discover the rewards and pitfalls that can result from the decisions that they make.
Last year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recognized the partnership between Capital One and Junior Achievement with a Corporate Citizenship Award for creating interesting and valuable programs that teach school kids from low- to moderate-income families to become more financially literate and understand the connection among education, life skills and career development.
Plans are currently under way to bring Finance Park to Richmond, Va.; and communities in Texas later this year.
Sliding into Succe$$
Through the Sliding Into Succe$$ program, hundreds of fifth through seventh grade students from Washington, D.C. Public Schools will work together to make talent decisions for their own fantasy baseball team. The students calculate batting averages by using individual player statistics and then evaluate various trade options and make player selections while staying within a specified budget. Nationals All-Star relief pitcher Chad Cordero will serve as program spokesperson and visit with groups of students, parents and teachers from each of the participating 15 Washington D.C. schools during pre-game outings at RFK Stadium. The school groups receive tickets to a baseball game and goodie bags.
Volunteerism
Hundreds of Capital One associates will volunteer this summer to teach many students from the Washington, D.C. metro area the basics of budgeting and money management through Finance Park. A majority of our associates report that volunteerism makes them feel good about working for Capital One. In 2006, associates volunteered more than 30,000 hours - with nearly 4,000 of those hours specific to teaching financial education. Giving back comes naturally to our associates and Capital One encourages a culture of volunteerism through a flexible work arrangement policy. Approximately 90 percent of our volunteers believe that they are making a difference in the community.
For more information on Capital One's financial education initiatives, consumers are invited to visit www.capitalone.com/financialeducation.
About Capital One
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company, with more than 720 locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas and Louisiana. Its principal subsidiaries, Capital One Bank, Capital One, F.S.B., Capital One Auto Finance, Inc., Capital One, N.A., and North Fork Bank offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had $87.7 billion in deposits and $142.0 billion in managed loans outstanding as of March 31, 2007. Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
About Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement of the National Capital Area (JANCA) is part of the world's largest and fastest-growing organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics, and free enterprise. Through age-appropriate curricula, Junior Achievement programs teach students in grade K through 12 how they can impact the world around them as individuals, workers and consumers by focusing on economic literacy, entrepreneurship, personal finance, and workforce readiness. Today Junior Achievement reaches more than six million students worldwide and 28,000 in the Greater Washington Region. For more information, visit www.myJA.org.
SOURCE: Capital One Financial Corporation
Capital One Financial Corporation
Lahne Mattas-Curry
703-720-2358
lahne.mattas-curry@capitalone.com