April 22, 2013
Atlanta, GA – April 22, 2013 – Retired Atlanta Falcon running back Warrick Dunn was joined by Lt. Governor Casey Cagle's office, the National Consumers League and Visa Inc. at be at the National Consumers League's 2013 National LifeSmarts Championship today to tackle financial literacy among teens. Dunn showcased the effort to improve money management skills of high school and middle school students with Financial Football, a free educational video game and classroom curriculum developed by Visa.
Warrick Dunn shared his personal experiences on the importance of responsible money management with students. The three-time Pro Bowl running back then rolled up his sleeves to lead student teams competing in the LifeSmarts Championship in a high-energy game of Financial Football.
The popular game is the centerpiece of Visa's nationwide educational initiative with the NFL and NFL PLAYERS. Financial Football helps students and adults tackle their financial futures. The game is accompanied by its own classroom curriculum and has been distributed to over 28,000 middle schools and high schools in 37 states.
"Financial Football is a wonderful playbook that engages students in their own personal finances and is a tool they can use for game planning the rest of their lives" said Georgia Lt. Governor Casey Cagle. "This is a valuable partnership between my office, Visa and the NFL."
"The National Consumers League has been dedicated to promoting and improving the personal financial literacy of America's youth," said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League. "With helpful resources, such as Financial Football, we are not only teaching students how to balance checkbooks, we are preparing students to be consumer-savvy adults."
By combining the structure and rules of the NFL with personal finance questions of varying difficulty, Financial Football puts students' fiscal knowledge to the test. The engaging, fast-paced video game is available in English and Spanish and can be played online at www.practicalmoneyskills.com/football, or downloaded as a free app for iPhones and iPads (in HD) on iTunes.
"It is never too early for kids to learn about managing their money," said former Atlanta Falcons running back and founder of Warrick Dunn Charities, Warrick Dunn. "It's important for parents, teachers and mentors within the community to work together in order to give teenagers a strong understanding of personal finance."
"For more than fifteen years, Visa has been committed to promoting financial literacy and we are proud to help strengthen financial education for middle school and high school students across the country," said Nat Sillin, Head of U.S. financial education, Visa Inc.
Since 2006, Visa has partnered with 37 state governments and the District of Columbia to co-brand and distribute free copies of Financial Football to every public middle and high school in those states (28,470 public schools so far) including: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The online version of Financial Football has been played more than 650,000 times.
Financial Football is part of Practical Money Skills for Life, Visa's free, award-winning financial education program that launched in 1995. The program contains comprehensive money management resources and lesson plans tailored for use at home and in the classroom. Visa also runs What's My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a leading higher education consumer awareness program.
About Visa Inc.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks–VisaNet–that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/our_business.html.
Warrick Dunn shared his personal experiences on the importance of responsible money management with students. The three-time Pro Bowl running back then rolled up his sleeves to lead student teams competing in the LifeSmarts Championship in a high-energy game of Financial Football.
The popular game is the centerpiece of Visa's nationwide educational initiative with the NFL and NFL PLAYERS. Financial Football helps students and adults tackle their financial futures. The game is accompanied by its own classroom curriculum and has been distributed to over 28,000 middle schools and high schools in 37 states.
"Financial Football is a wonderful playbook that engages students in their own personal finances and is a tool they can use for game planning the rest of their lives" said Georgia Lt. Governor Casey Cagle. "This is a valuable partnership between my office, Visa and the NFL."
"The National Consumers League has been dedicated to promoting and improving the personal financial literacy of America's youth," said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League. "With helpful resources, such as Financial Football, we are not only teaching students how to balance checkbooks, we are preparing students to be consumer-savvy adults."
By combining the structure and rules of the NFL with personal finance questions of varying difficulty, Financial Football puts students' fiscal knowledge to the test. The engaging, fast-paced video game is available in English and Spanish and can be played online at www.practicalmoneyskills.com/football, or downloaded as a free app for iPhones and iPads (in HD) on iTunes.
"It is never too early for kids to learn about managing their money," said former Atlanta Falcons running back and founder of Warrick Dunn Charities, Warrick Dunn. "It's important for parents, teachers and mentors within the community to work together in order to give teenagers a strong understanding of personal finance."
"For more than fifteen years, Visa has been committed to promoting financial literacy and we are proud to help strengthen financial education for middle school and high school students across the country," said Nat Sillin, Head of U.S. financial education, Visa Inc.
Since 2006, Visa has partnered with 37 state governments and the District of Columbia to co-brand and distribute free copies of Financial Football to every public middle and high school in those states (28,470 public schools so far) including: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The online version of Financial Football has been played more than 650,000 times.
Financial Football is part of Practical Money Skills for Life, Visa's free, award-winning financial education program that launched in 1995. The program contains comprehensive money management resources and lesson plans tailored for use at home and in the classroom. Visa also runs What's My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a leading higher education consumer awareness program.
About Visa Inc.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks–VisaNet–that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/our_business.html.
