Interactive Classroom Hits the Road this fall to Introduce Real-World Money MattersWASHINGTON, Sep 26, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Results of a new survey by Capital One Financial Corporation show
that 94 percent of 8th graders have never had a personal finance
class, yet 48 percent would like to learn more about managing money.
Capital One and JA Worldwide(TM) (Junior Achievement) have teamed up
to create the Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park that will be
unveiled today in Washington before it heads to Fairfax and Richmond,
Va., this fall.
The Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park(TM) (Finance Park)
is a mobile, interactive classroom - two 53-foot semi-trucks that
feature 2,000 square feet of training space and can host up to 60
students at a time - where students are given real-life financial
situations and taught how to make important decisions on money matters
and establish a personal budget.
Prior to arriving at Finance Park, students prepare by
participating in twenty-four hours of classroom instruction led by
their teachers on financial literacy topics including saving,
investing, taxes, budgeting and career planning. When they arrive,
each student receives a life scenario that includes job and salary
information, family situation (single, married with children) and
existing financial commitments (student loans, car payments, rent).
Their challenge is to take what they've learned in the classroom and
apply it at Finance Park to make sound financial decisions and
maintain a personal budget.
"Students can be adults for a day," said David S. Chernow,
president and CEO of JA Worldwide, which developed the curriculum for
the program. "Through our partnership with Capital One in developing
our mobile Finance Park, together we will provide more middle school
students the opportunity to get a head start on learning about some of
the financial decisions they may encounter down the road."
"With this new mobile classroom, we hope to provide middle
schoolers access to financial education resources and instill money
management skills that will last a lifetime," said Richard Woods,
senior vice president at Capital One. "Finance Park allows us the
flexibility to bring financial education to our local communities--our
associates will play an active role in opening possibilities and
building self-confidence in these young adults."
Finance Park will make its inaugural stop in Washington on
September 26 before pulling into Fairfax from October 12-October 25
and Richmond from October 30-November 8. More than 200 Capital One
volunteers will staff the Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park
and mentor the nearly 1,000 students who will pass through the mobile,
interactive classroom this fall. Plans are under way to bring Finance
Park to the Washington D.C. area, Richmond, Va.; and communities in
Texas in 2007.
About JA Worldwide(TM) (Junior Achievement)
JA Worldwide is the world's largest organization dedicated
to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global
economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides
in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA
Worldwide offers educational programs that focus on seven key content
areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship,
ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. Today,
139 individual area operations reach approximately four million
students in the United States, with more than 3.5 million students
served by operations in 100 countries worldwide. For more information,
visit www.ja.org.
About Capital One
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One Financial
Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company, with
more than 324 locations in Texas and Louisiana. Its principal
subsidiaries, Capital One Bank, Capital One, F.S.B., Capital One Auto
Finance, Inc., and Capital One, N.A., offer a broad spectrum of
financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and
commercial clients. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had $47.2
billion in deposits and $108.4 billion in managed loans outstanding as
of June 30, 2006. Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, trades on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the
S&P 500 index.
SOURCE: Capital One Financial Corporation
Capital One Financial Corporation
Laura White
(804) 284-5799
laura.white@capitalone.com
or
JA Worldwide(TM)
Stephanie Bell
(719) 540-6171
sbell@ja.org