FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 27, 2004

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Kristy Thomas
Creative Response Concepts
(703) 683-5004 ext.136
kthomas@crc4pr.com

Marion F. Swan
Girl Scouts of the USA
(212) 852-8012
MSwan@girlscouts.org

San Francisco, CA - July 27, 2004 - Today, Visa USA and the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) launched a money management resources developed for tween and teen girls.

These resources are being launched at a time when a new survey shows that teen girls lack an understanding of financial basics. In a recent Visa USA survey, only 33 percent of girls aged 13-17 were able to correctly identify six or more common terms such as interest, APR and IRA.

The survey also underscored what an important role parents play in their teens' financial knowledge. Girls who had frequent discussions with their parents about money matters scored 17 percent higher than those who had never had a financial dialogue with their parents.

"Financial literacy is the key to economic independence, but many young girls today are not getting the lessons they need through the traditional means of school and home," said Kathy Cloninger, CEO, Girl Scouts of the USA. "By developing money management skills early in life, girls will gain the confidence they need to lead them into their financial future."

"We have developed these money management resources to make it easier for parents to teach their daughters personal finance skills that will ultimately help them succeed in life," said Rosetta Jones, director, Visa USA. "Working with the Girls Scouts, we have designed materials that address everyday teen financial issues in a way that makes learning about money fun and easy."

Designed to complement GSUSA's existing financial literacy program, the new resources created by Visa and GSUSA are presented in a fun and lively way and designed for girls to use at home or within the traditional troop setting. Specifically, the program includes: Cashin' In, a STUDIO 2Bsm focus book and an interactive Web game entitled Making Cents of Her Life.

Cashin' In is a full-color, goal-oriented workbook with money lessons and specific actions to help girls develop a spending plan for items such as yearbooks, proms, and college applications.

Making Cents of Her Life is an interactive Internet game that features four girls from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, during their years at middle school, high school, college, and after finding that first job. The game, accessible on www.studio2b.org/lounge/games, allows girls to choose which character they want to help face a series of financial challenges.

While these resources are designed with teen girls in mind, anyone can obtain the materials by contacting their local Girl Scout office or calling GSUSA at 1-800-221-6707.

Visa USA surveyed 603 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 on April 20 - 26, 2004; the survey's margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent. Additional survey results include:

• While 91 percent said a parent had talked to them about saving money, only 74 percent of parents talked to their daughters about budgeting money
• Only 13 percent of girls have ever created a detailed, written budget
• Just 40 percent had discussed with a parent how the family manages its finances
• 62 percent of the girls said they would be interested in learning more about personal finance through a self-paced program on the Internet with educational games and activities.
• Among the girls who indicated they worked, 94 percent said they save a portion of their earnings; with 45 percent saying they donate a portion of their earnings to a church or charity.

For more information about this money management program, or to download the survey results, please visit www.practicalmoneyskills.com.

About Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent organization for girls, and has more than 3.8 million girl and adult members. Now in its 92nd year, Girl Scouting cultivates values, social conscience, and self-esteem in girls, while teaching them critical life skills to later succeed as adults. In Girl Scouting's special girls-only environment, girls discover the fun, friendship and power of girls together. The organization strives to serve girls from every corner of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. To volunteer your time or make a donation, call 1-800-GSUSA 4 U. Visit us at www.girlscouts.org/news/.

The STUDIO 2B Web site and book series gives tween and teenage girls a chance to discuss read and get advice about life and real issues.

About Visa
Visa is the world's leading payment brand and largest consumer payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and merchant customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives. Nearly 21,000 financial institutions worldwide rely on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate $2.5 trillion in annual transaction volume with virtually 100-percent reliability. Consumers in more than 150 countries carry more than 1 billion Visa-branded cards, accepted at millions of locations worldwide. Within the United States, nearly 14,000 financial institutions issue 429 million Visa cards, accounting for more than $1.1 trillion in annual transaction volume. Visa offers a trusted, reliable and convenient way to access and mobilize financial resources - anytime, anywhere, any way. For more information about Visa, please visit www.visa.com.

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