Tackling the problem of financial illiteracy among Georgia teenagers head-on, Atlanta Falcons Wide Receiver Roddy White, Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and Visa Inc. on Tuesday announced the statewide rollout of an effort to improve the money management skills of high school and middle school students. This free educational video game and classroom curriculum called Financial Football was developed by Visa Inc.
Lieutenant Governor Cagle kicked off this new financial literacy campaign today in the Falcons' locker room at the Georgia Dome with help from Hapeville Charter School and Career Academy students, Falcons wide receiver Roddy White and Visa officials. White shared his personal experiences on the importance of money management with local students. Lieutenant Governor Cagle and White then rolled up their sleeves and led student teams in a hard-fought, high energy game of Financial Football.
The centerpiece of Visa's nationwide educational initiative with the NFL and NFL PLAYERS, Financial Football helps students and adults tackle their financial futures. This free game is accompanied by a classroom curriculum and is being distributed by Lieutenant Governor Cagle to every public middle and high school in Georgia.
"Financial Football is a wonderful way to get students interested in personal finances and give them a financial playbook they can use the rest of their lives. This is a valuable program and a great partnership between my office, Visa and the NFL," Lieutenant Governor Cagle said.
"Kids need to know how to make smart money management decisions early in life," White said. "It takes the combined efforts of parents, teachers and mentors within the community to give teenagers a strong background in personal finance."
Available online, at www.georgia.financialfootball.com, Financial Football puts students' fiscal knowledge to the test in an online simulation game environment by combining the structure and rules of the NFL with financial education questions of varying difficulty. Visa has also released the game as a free iPhone app on iTunes, along with an optimized HD iPad version.
"For over a decade, Visa has been committed to promoting financial literacy and we are proud to assist Lieutenant Governor Cagle in his efforts to strengthen financial education throughout the state of Georgia," said Jason Alderman, Senior Director of Financial Education, Visa Inc.
This launch is part of a national educational campaign with Visa, the NFL and NFL PLAYERS, now in its seventh season. Since 2006, Visa has reached agreements with thirty states to distribute Financial Football to every high school and middle school in those states, including Georgia. The other states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
Financial Football is part of Practical Money Skills for Life (www.practicalmoneyskills.com) a free, award-winning financial education program that reaches millions of people around the world each year. Launched in 1995, the program is now available in ten languages in thirty countries. At Practical Money Skills for Life, educators, parents and students can access free educational resources including personal finance articles, games, lesson plans, and more. Visa also runs What's My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a leading higher education consumer awareness program.
