LifeSmarts News
NATIONAL CONSUMERS LEAGUE PRESS RELEASE
Maryland takes 2010 national LifeSmarts titleRelease Date: April 28, 2010
Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org
Washington, DC—The student team from Frederick County, Maryland was crowned national LifeSmarts champions in Miami Beach, Florida on Tuesday, April 27. In a tough final match against the second-place team from North Dakota’s Henderson High School, the Maryland teens outscored their opponents and did it with great sportsmanship. Teams from Kansas and Arizona placed third.
"We are so proud of these students from Maryland, who represented their state program with class and pride," said LifeSmarts Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. "They played hard and demonstrated their consumer smarts throughout the four-day event. They are true LifeSmarts champions."
LifeSmarts is a program run by the Washington, DC-based National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocate. It competitively tests high school students’ knowledge of consumer awareness, with subjects including personal finance, health and safety, consumer rights and responsibility, technology, and the environment.
New this year at the 2010 National LifeSmarts Championship was the introduction of individual topic area competitions. Teens from each of the 32 state champion teams represented at nationals competed as individuals, and the top five scorers received $500 scholarships from NCL. This year’s winners were:
* Environment: Ricky Tabandera, Hawaii
* Personal Finance: Robert Dickens, Maryland
* Health and Safety: Hafsa Khanum, Connecticut
* Consumer Rights and Responsibilities: Gabrielle Sclafani, Rhode Island
* Technology: Pierce Donovan, Pennsylvania
“NCL’s LifeSmarts program is allowing us to rear a generation of consumer-savvy teenagers who often outsmart their parents on issues related to avoiding fraud, credit and debt, and complicated health care decisions,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. In the 16 years that LifeSmarts has been educating high school and middle school teens on consumer issues, it has grown dramatically, with more than 3 million consumer questions at www.lifesmarts.org in the online competition during the 2009-2010 academic year.
For team photos, event schedules, grid standings, and more, log on to www.lifesmarts.org.
All winners at the national LifeSmarts Competition received valuable prizes donated by sponsors to the National Consumers League, including scholarships, savings bonds, gift cards, and more. To learn more about the program, contact NCL's Lisa Hertzberg at 202-835-3323. For a complete listing of this year's prizes, visit www.lifesmarts.org.
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About LifeSmarts and the National Consumers League
LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org.This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call the National Consumers League's communications department at 202-835-3323. The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America's pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
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NATIONAL CONSUMERS LEAGUE MEDIA ADVISORY
April is Financial Literacy Month: 32 state champion teams en route to Miami Beach for annual LifeSmarts championship, April 24-27Release Date: April 7, 2010
Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org
Washington, D.C. — Just in time for Financial Literacy Month, the National Consumers League (NCL) has announced the 32 state champion teams who have earned a spot at the 2010 National LifeSmarts Championship, which will take place this year in Miami Beach, Florida, April 24-27. LifeSmarts (www.lifesmarts.org) is NCL’s 16-year-old program that educates teens and tweens on real-world financial and consumer literacy issues.
LifeSmarts is a competitive educational program, in which teams of students begin online. Top-scorers progress to state competitions, and state champion teams meet each April to compete in the National LifeSmarts Championship. Last year’s state champion from Wisconsin’s Oconto High School will return this year to defend their national title. For a complete list of state champions, visit www.lifesmarts.org.
“We are so proud of this year’s state LifeSmarts champions, who have proven themselves to be the best and the brightest of the next generation of consumers,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “LifeSmarts is a fun, fast, and educational program, and a great vehicle for educating young consumers. Our program goes in-depth on the issues kids—and adults--are facing now: making smart choices with financial resources, health care, environmental concerns, and how technology affects our lives.”
The 2010 National LifeSmarts Champion and other winning teams will walk away with prizes including scholarships and savings bonds. Also, for the first time this year, top students will receive new scholarships for demonstrating knowledge in specific program topic areas. The top eight placing teams are recognized with savings bonds and other prizes.
2010 NATIONAL LIFESMARTS CHAMPIONSHIP HEADED TO MIAMI BEACH
Consumer-savvy teens representing 32 states will compete at this year’s national event. Throughout the 2009-2010 program year, more than 22,000 teens competed online for a chance to represent their states at the 2010 National LifeSmarts Championship. Players answered more than 3 million consumer questions in the online competition.
EVENT INFO
April 24-27, 2010
Miami Beach Resort, 4833 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33140 (866-765-9090)
Final match: Tuesday, April 27, 10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Eastern
Awards Ceremony: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Eastern
WEBCAST AND WEB COVERAGE
Parents and teachers can follow the action at the official 2010 National LifeSmarts Championship blog (www.lifesmartsnationals.blogspot.com).
The semi-final and final competition matches will be streamed live at www.lifesmarts.org, starting at 9 am Eastern.
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About the National Consumers League and LifeSmarts
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America's pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org , or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.
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NCL thanks Western Union for underwriting LifeSmarts study aid
April 2010’s Question-of-the-Day Calendar features practice questions on consumer rights and responsibilities.
Release Date: April 1, 2010 Contact: 202-835-3323, media@nclnet.org
Each month, the official LifeSmarts Web site (www.lifesmarts.org) will feature a calendar containing dozens of retired competition questions for use as a study aid. The LifeSmarts daily calendars provide one challenge question related to the monthly topic area for each school day.
“Teachers and coaches may use the calendar questions to spur class discussion by asking one question per day, developing a mini-quiz given weekly, or running a simulated LifeSmarts competition,” said LifeSmarts Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “We are grateful for Western Union’s support in making this resource available to students and coaches, especially those who will spend the next several weeks doing some last-minute cramming for the 2010 National LifeSmarts Championship in Miami.”
LifeSmarts--the ultimate consumer challenge--is an educational opportunity that develops the consumer and marketplace knowledge and skills of teenagers in a fun way and rewards them for this knowledge. The program complements the curriculum already in place in high schools and can be used as an activity for classes, groups, clubs, and community organizations. LifeSmarts, run as a game-show style competition, is open to all teens in the U.S. in high school and middle school.
LifeSmarts topics have been chosen to encourage and reward knowledge in the areas that matter most to consumers and workers in today's marketplace: personal finance; health and safety; the environment; technology; and consumer rights and responsibilities.
In LifeSmarts, teams of four to five teens, coached by an adult participant, compete in district and state matches with the state winners going to the national competition to vie for the national LifeSmarts title. The National Consumers League will host the 16th annual LifeSmarts National Competition in Miami Beach, Florida from April 24-27, 2010.
The National Consumers League appreciates the financial support that makes LifeSmarts possible, which allows us to provide this program at no charge to teens and adult coaches. Our sponsors -- community-minded businesses, associations, labor unions, government agencies, other organizations and individuals -- understand the benefits of providing meaningful consumer education for young adults.