Everywhere we look lately, we are bombarded with bleak financial forecasts, staggering foreclosure figures, and increasing interest rates. Unemployment in the state of Florida reached an all-time high in March 2009 and students all over the country are feeling the effects of the present recession. Now, more than ever, the importance of teaching kids how to budget their money and control their credit should be at the forefront of our minds.
There is a group of local attorneys in the Northern District of Florida who are attempting to keep today's kids from becoming tomorrow's debtors by educating them about the financial issues they will face and how to avoid common pitfalls. Our platform, the CARE Program (Credit Abuse Resistance Education), was created in 1997 by a bankruptcy judge in New York who grew tired of doing nothing about the growing number of financially illiterate debtors who graced his courtroom. The program uses a PowerPoint presentation with games and prizes to grab students' attention, then follows up with handouts listing websites and tips to help them stay financially savvy. Additional information can be found on the national CARE website, www.careprogram.us.
The advantages to this program are two-fold. The schools benefit by having credit education presented to their students at absolutely no cost to the school. Administrators can be confident that the presenters, as local professionals, will conduct themselves professionally while on school grounds and set good examples for their students to follow. For attorneys, the CARE Program offers an opportunity to perform a desperately needed public service and make a difference in the community without making a long-term commitment or incurring personal cost. The presentation materials are provided and require very little preparation; all the attorney must donate is his or her time for the presentation (which usually lasts approximately forty-five minutes to an hour). Presenters need only commit to one presentation at a time.
The CARE Program is up and running in the Pensacola division and efforts are underway to jumpstart the Program in Tallahassee. If you are interested in volunteering for the Pensacola Division CARE Program, fill out the volunteer availability form and return it to Jodi Cooke or Brooke Sanchez. If you are interested in volunteering for the CARE Program in another division of the district, contact the following individuals:
Tallahassee - Brian Rich or Michael Moody
Gainesville - Karen Specie