ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Charles Schwab Foundation have named 17-year-old Angel Carter of the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Atlanta the 2017 National Ambassador for the Money Matters: Make it Count financial education program, which teaches the basics of personal finance and the importance of an early start to being financially responsible. As the tenth annual National Money Matters Ambassador, Angel will serve as an advocate for expanding teens’ knowledge of money management to help them ultimately achieve financial independence and well-being.
Since the program’s inception, more than 725,000 Boys & Girls Club teens have completed Money Matters in more than 1,700 Clubs. During 2015 alone, some 85,000 teens completed the program.
Angel was first introduced to the Money Matters program in just third grade, and she became more involved as a teenager, taking the full course from a Money Matters instructor. Thanks to the savings lessons she learned at her Club, Angel opened up her first bank account when she was just 14 years old. Angel has applied the skills she learned in Money Matters to plan ahead for college, where she hopes to study Mass Communications and Sociology. Eventually, Angel aspires to save enough money to start a scholarship fund to help other students achieve their educational goals.
“The Money Matters principles have and will continue to help guide me financially through the next phases of my life,” Angel said. “This program helped me to understand the importance of saving, budgeting, investing and financial independence.”
As the 2017 National Ambassador for the Money Matters program, Angel feels her goal of pursuing a college education in communications is more attainable than ever as she will receive a $5,000 college scholarship from Charles Schwab Foundation. She also earned the opportunity to meet with Congressman John Lewis and to attend the Jump$tart Annual Awards Dinner on April 5-6, 2017 in Washington, D.C.
“We love the National Ambassador program because it celebrates the difference that financial education can make in someone’s life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, president and board chair of Charles Schwab Foundation. ”It also acknowledges the power of peer-to-peer influence, which is so crucial in helping young people learn about the power of financial fitness.”
In addition to Angel, 10 other Boys & Girls Club teens will receive $2,500 scholarships for their outstanding personal finance leadership skills.
“Since the program’s inception, Money Matters has helped hundreds of thousands of teens plan ahead for their futures with financial well-being in mind,” said Jim Clark, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “We believe these formative years are important to establish healthy financial habits that will last long into the future, from saving for college to prioritizing spending and managing monthly budgets.”
The 2017 $2,500 scholarship winners are as follows:
- Davontae Conner, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington in Washington, D.C.
- Lizvett Guizar, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco in San Francisco, CA
- John Khuynh, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco in San Francisco, CA
- Najha Marshall, Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County in Plano, TX
- Darwin Ochoa, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, NV
- Sharnae Pegues, Boys & Girls Clubs of Coffee County in Douglas, GA
- Nia Peterson, Boys & Girls Clubs of Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, AL
- Nia Spencer, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago in Chicago, IL
- Sergio Wallace, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta in Atlanta, GA
- Thomas Zhang, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco in San Francisco, CA
Since 2004, Charles Schwab Foundation has presented a total of $546,000 in college scholarship grants to 270 Boys & Girls Club teens, ages 16 – 18.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,300 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at Facebook and Twitter.
About Charles Schwab Foundation
Charles Schwab Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization funded by The Charles Schwab Corporation. Its mission is to create positive change through financial education, philanthropy, and volunteerism. More information is available at www.aboutschwab.com/community. The Charles Schwab Foundation is classified by the IRS as a charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is neither a part of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) nor its parent company, The Charles Schwab Corporation. Charles Schwab Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs of America are unaffiliated entities.
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