Take Charge America Awards Gift to Montana State University

Financial Literacy Project Receives Support for Third Consecutive Year

PHOENIX, Ariz. (October 6, 2003) – Mike Hall, president and founder of Take Charge America, Inc. (TCA), formerly Credit Counselors of America, Inc. (CCOA), is pleased to announce that the non-profit credit counseling and debt management organization is awarding $213,000 to the Family Financial Literacy Project at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. The gift will be used to support the Project’s ongoing efforts in developing instructional materials and training teachers to teach the principles of personal finance.

This will mark the third consecutive year that Phoenix-based Take Charge America has supported the Project. In the past years, Montana State University has used the funds to develop an eighteen-week curriculum on family finance for teachers to deliver to juniors and seniors in high school. The curriculum culminates with a simulation game called "Life in Montana" that allows the students to assume real life family finance scenarios, complete a financial plan and problem solve. This year’s grant will expand the training to include teachers from other states.

According to Hall, the project is a perfect extension of TCA’s mission. “We are in the business of empowering people and enhancing the financial literacy of all Americans,” he said. “If we can reach thousands of students while they are still in high school, we will help many avoid common mistakes that have significant long term financial impact.”

Dr. Deborah Haynes, project director at Montana State University concurs, “Thanks to these funds we have been able to provide teachers with the tools and knowledge to teach personal financial skills to thousands of young people. We hope to reach thousands more in the coming year.”

Take Charge America is also the sponsor of the Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education & Research at the University of Arizona. Created with a $10 million endowment from TCA in April 2003, the purpose of the Institute is to engage in research, develop research-based consumer financial education programs, and work to disseminate those programs throughout the United States.

About TCA
Founded in 1987, Take Charge America, Inc. (TCA), formerly Credit Counselors of America, Inc. (CCOA), is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in Phoenix, AZ. TCA is committed to helping consumers gain control of their finances and offers a variety of services including education, budget and financial counseling, and when necessary, debt management.

TCA also serves as an effective resource for the business community. We help financially distressed consumers re-organize their finances and return hundreds of millions of dollars annually to financial institutions, professional service providers, and businesses of all sizes and descriptions that may otherwise have been dishonored in bankruptcy. TCA’s diversified programs are utilized by tens of thousands of families and single men and women throughout the United States each year.