For Immediate Release

September 14, 2004

Contact:              Susan Miller 
                            317-816-9760 
                            smiller@hickmanassocaites.com 

NCAA Headquarters to Host Financial Literacy Event
Indiana’s first Jump$tart Summit Scheduled for October 5

The importance of teaching personal financial literacy for students K-12 will be the focus of Indiana’s first Jump$tart Teachers Summit on Tuesday, October 5, at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis. The summit is being organized by the Indiana Jump$tart Coalition and Networks Financial Institute
The Jump$tart Summit, which is free to all Indiana teachers, highlights the need for financial literacy starting early in the education process and continuing through high school.  Record levels of consumer debt, high home foreclosures and escalating credit card debt have created an urgent need to address the causes of poor financial management practices early in life.

Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Suellen Reed, Indiana Treasurer Tim Berry, and invited speaker Governor Joe Kernan are among some of the  speakers for this event.  Junior Achievement, the Indiana Council for Economic Education, Purdue University and many other organizations will showcase some of the best and most promising approaches available to educators at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.  “Financial literacy affects everything from unemployment rates to home ownership.  Unfortunately, teachers have historically had few resources to support them in teaching personal financial management.  The Jump$tart program provides a way for teachers to learn about various financial literacy modules available to support them in their teaching efforts,” said Liz Georgakopoulis, executive director of Networks Financial Institute.

The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy is a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the personal financial literacy of young adults by developing, disseminating and encouraging the use of standards for grades K-12 and by promoting personal financial education at home and in school.  The Indiana Jump$tart Teachers Summit is presented by honor roll sponsors, Networks Financial Institute, Bank One, the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, and State Farm Insurance.

Networks Financial Institute was founded in 2003 with a grant from the Lilly Endowment.  The non-profit organization serves as an outreach program of Indiana State University and focuses efforts on improving financial literacy, advancing important financial issues impacting Indiana and funding research.  Networks Financial Institute is headquartered in Indianapolis with offices on the campus of Indiana State University and outreach in Washington, D.C., and internationally.  For more information about Networks Financial Institute, visit www.networksfinancialinstitute.org.