| Money Smart: Coming Soon to
a Safe Haven Near You
Join the financial literacy wave: CCDO's goal is to have 75
new sites offering Money Smart classes for residents by 2006.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and CCDO
signed a partnership agreement at the FY 2005 Weed and Seed
Application Kit and Training Workshop in March. The partnership
guarantees 75 Weed and Seed sites access to all of the curriculums,
training materials, and training for trainers needed to launch
or expand financial literacy offerings in neighborhoods most
affected by crime and violence. Sites may enhance neighborhood
restoration strategies by including financial literacy in their
competitive application requests for 2005.
“The collaboration between FDIC and CCDO represents a natural
fit for both agencies,” said Lee Bowman, National Coordinator
of FDIC's Community Affairs Program. “Working together, we
can increase our effectiveness by promoting financial education
as a key strategy to help revitalize neighborhoods. By increasing
the health of Weed and Seed residents, our agencies can contribute
substantially to increasing family assets and homeownership
rates, as well as small business ownership.”
CCDO's goal is to offer more financial literacy programming
to Weed and Seed residents as part of a comprehensive approach
to increasing the financial stability of individuals and families
and fostering neighborhood restoration efforts. Neighborhood
restoration is a core component of Weed and Seed and key to
sustainability.
“Our partnership with FDIC will bring Money Smart, a financial
education program, to our Weed and Seed residents, many of
whom are outside the financial mainstream,” said Nelson Hernandez,
CCDO Director. “Many of our Weed and Seed communities are characterized
by a significant number of low- and moderate-income families,
so this partnership makes sense.”
Sites will begin receiving copies of the Money Smart training
materials and ten 1-hour workshops in April 2005. Training
for instructors will be available through regional trainings
offered by FDIC and at the CCDO national conference in Los
Angeles in August.
If you need more information or assistance in identifying
organizations interested in sponsoring financial education,
contact the FDIC
Community Affairs Officer for your community.
For further information, contact:
Sonia Klukas
CCDO Community Partnerships Officer
202-616-3454
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