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December 19, 2006
Financial Football Training Camp kicks off at Capital High School
Treasurer John Perdue (on right) and pro-football star Troy Brown (left) play Financial Football with students from Capital and Montcalm high schools.
CHARLESTON – Students will be playing a different kind of football -- one that teaches financial education lessons -- if a new initiative promoted by State Treasurer John Perdue catches on around the state.
Perdue joined former Marshall University football standout and current New England Patriots All-Pro Wide Receiver, Troy Brown, school officials and Visa USA at Capital High School today to introduce Financial Football Training Camp to a group of students from two state high schools.
“This game is an effective new teaching tool that can really get more students involved in financial education,” Perdue said. “It provides a fun way for students to test their knowledge of personal finance in a simulated football game environment.”
The State Treasurer’s Office has mailed copies of the game, which was produced by Visa USA at no cost to the state, to all West Virginia high schools. A link to the online version of the game and program can be found on the State Treasurer’s web site at www.wvtreasury.com .
“It takes the combined efforts of parents, teachers and the public sector to give young adults a strong background in personal financial management,” said Troy Brown. “Last month, I joined Visa in bringing this message to students in the Boston area. Now, I have the chance to coach another game of Financial Football Training Camp here in the Mountain State and to tell these students how imperative it will be for them to learn how to make good, smart, informed money decisions, as they plan for college and beyond."
Financial Football Training Camp is both an interactive game and one week money management curriculum that will help educators teach important financial literacy skills to their students such as the fundamentals of saving, budgeting and investing. This one week course culminates in a game of Financial Football. The Financial Football Training Camp game combines the structure and rules of the NFL with financial education questions of varying difficulty. To score points, a team needs to answer questions correctly.
"Visa is proud of its over decade long commitment to financial literacy and to be assisting West Virginia State Treasurer John D. Perdue and his office in their efforts to promote and strengthen financial education efforts throughout his state,” said Jason Alderman, director, Visa USA. “We also take great pride in our NFL sponsorship, which is enabling us to work with so many talented players like Troy Brown to give students around the country the tools, resources and encouragement they need to become more financially literate.”
Perdue also thinks the game will benefit from the peaking of NFL interest. “The time is right for this game,” he added, “since students’ interest in football should be at its peak throughout the college bowl and NFL playoff seasons leading up to the Super Bowl.”
The effort is part of the State Treasurer’s Office savings and financial education program that emphasizes working with West Virginia’s teachers and schools. State Treasurer’s Office staff tested the Financial Football game with teachers in five high schools before introducing the game statewide. Students from Montcalm High School, which was one of the test sites, also attended the kickoff event.
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