CBR Foundation for Financial Education Combating Youth Financial Illiteracy

June 21, 2004, Racine, Wis. — The CBR Foundation for Financial Education is fighting the growing problem of financial illiteracy among today’s youth by sponsoring one teacher to attend a financial education seminar that equips educators to teach personal finance.

CBR is sponsoring Gwen Wortock, a Racine resident who teaches in the Kenosha Unified School district, to attend the Wisconsin Institute of Financial & Economic Education being held August 2-6 in Madison. The institute will focus on topics such as consumer credit and credit education, real-world budgeting, fraud and credit reporting.

“Recent surveys demonstrate that our state’s high school seniors are failing when it comes to finance basics,” says Gloria Mitchell, executive director of CBR. “We want to give teachers the tools necessary to educate our youth to make informed financial decisions—such as how to responsibly use a credit card or finance higher education—so they’ll become financially self-sufficient as adults.”

“We need to do more to teach our young people these critical life skills. The health of our economy depends on it. Young people are consumers who control billions of dollars in economic activity,” adds Mitchell.

According to a recent survey, Wisconsin 12th graders scored a failing grade of 54.7% on basic personal finance questions. They survey was released by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, a consortium of public and private organizations coming together to improve our state’s financial literacy.

This is the third year CBR has sponsored teachers to attend the Wisconsin Institute of Financial & Economic Education, organized by Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy of Wisconsin.

Gloria Mitchell (262) 637-9580
info@cbracine.org
www.cbracine.org

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CBR Foundation for Financial Education is located in Racine, Wisconsin. A non-profit organization, its mission is to provide financial education to the community. CBR offers services to area residents by way of publications, distribution of educational materials and grants to support educational initiatives in the field of personal finance. It also serves as a clearinghouse for government publications, Internet sites and commercial publications that pertain to financial education for all age groups.

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