FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 11, 2005
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Maria Hatzikonstantinou
(703) 683-5004
Steve Burke (703) 683-5004
Visa USA and NFL Stars Eric Johnson of the San Francisco 49ers
and Ted Washington of the Oakland Raiders Clash on the Fiscal
Gridiron with Students at Thurgood Marshall Academic High School
Students at Marshall Gain Positive Yardage in Game of "Financial Football"
San Francisco, CA - Going on offense to
advance financial literacy, Visa USA has teamed up with NFL stars
Eric Johnson of the San Francisco 49ers and Ted Washington of
the Oakland Raiders to talk with Bay-area students about driving
toward the end-zone in a different game, one which prepares them
to become fiscally fit adults.
“When I was in high school, there were no
classes to educate us about how to make smart, informed decisions
about money management,” said Eric Johnson to a crowded
room full of students and teachers at Thurgood Marshall Academic
High School in San Francisco.
“I’m glad to be here today to share
with these students the kinds of skills they will need as they
begin to manage their own finances and learn how to stick to a
budget,” added Ted Washington.
At Marshall, Eric Johnson coached the “home”
team comprised of half the students, while Ted Washington headed
up the “visiting” team. Together, the two engaged
students using an animated computer game, called “Financial
Football.” The content, developed with the cooperation of
the NFL and the NFL Players Association, incorporates lessons
taught through Practical Money Skills for Life, Visa’s award-winning
money management curriculum.
Today’s event is part of a seventeen (17)
city campaign in partnership with the NFL to promote financial
literacy in schools across the country. The NFL players will help
the program reach the grassroots level, visiting high schools
in their local markets, to provide basic financial literacy training.
“Financial Football” combines the structure
and rules of the NFL with financial education questions of varying
difficulty. To score points, a team needs to answer questions
correctly. And, just like in the NFL, penalties can cost a team
yardage. The team with the highest point total after four quarters
wins the game.
“Equipping the next generation of professionals, civic
leaders, trades people, executives, and business owners with vital
financial skills really needs to be a cooperative effort between
schools, the business community and government,” said Dr.
Michael Eddings, principal, Thurgood Marshall Academic High School.
“Visa is proud of its long-standing commitment
to financial education, and greatly appreciates the assistance
we received today from both Ted Washington and Eric Johnson and
the students and faculty at Marshall High School,” said
Tony Wells, vice president, Visa USA. “We take great pride
in our NFL sponsorship, which is enabling us to work with so many
talented players to give students the tools, resources and encouragement
they need to become more financially literate.”
Practical Money Skills for Life (www.PracticalMoneySkills.com)
is a comprehensive financial literacy program - available in English,
Spanish and Chinese – that teaches young adults personal
finance skills. The program reaches more than 100,000 schools
and 37 million students in the United States.
The free educational resource provides teachers with lesson plans
(kindergarten-college) mapped to their state education requirements,
as well as teacher guides, overheads, instructional videos and
CD-ROMs. For students, there are interactive games and calculators
designed to teach responsibility and important concepts such as
earning, saving, and budgeting money.
About Visa USA
Visa USA is the
nation's leading payment brand and largest payment system, enabling
banks to provide their consumers and business customers with a
wide variety of payment alternatives tailored to meet their evolving
needs. Visa USA is committed to increasing the choice, convenience,
acceptance, and security of Visa payments for all stakeholders
in the payment system - Members, cardholders and merchants. Through
its 14,000 Member financial institutions, more than 482 million
Visa-branded cards have been issued to cardholders in the United
States. Last year, U.S.-based financial institutions relied on
Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate $1.3 trillion
in transactions with unparalleled reliability.
Worldwide, cardholders in over 150
countries carry more than 1 billion Visa-branded cards,
accounting for more than $3 trillion in annual transaction volume.
Visa offers a trusted, reliable and convenient way to access and
mobilize financial resources - anytime, anywhere, anyway.
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