CARE – A financial literacy program for students and young adults taught by bankruptcy professionals focusing on budgeting, saving, and obtaining and using credit responsibly.


 

WHAT THEY DO

Founded in 2002, the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) program, seeks to educate high school and college students on the responsible use of credit and other fundamentals of financial literacy, as well as the potential consequences of poor money management and credit card abuse.

Now-retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of New York John C. Ninfo II founded the program. Tired of seeing so many debtors coming through his courtroom having gotten into financial trouble through the misuse of credit cards and poor financial planning and budgeting, Judge Ninfo decided to take action and the CARE program was born.

WHAT THEY OFFER

  • Financial Literacy Presentations & Seminars Around the Country: CARE is a nationwide organization that works with partners in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court System, U.S. Trustee Program and Bankruptcy Attorneys around the country to provide highly-engaging and multimedia presentations on various topics such as: budgeting & savings, the responsible use of credit, and how to manage student loans. The presentations help students understand: (1) the true cost of consumer credit; (2) how difficult it is to repay consumer debt incurred to busy and do things that many not be necessary or affordable; (3) the many consequences of financial irresponsibility, including bankruptcy; (4) the need to maintain a savings cushion and to budget effectively; and (5) the advantages of a high credit score. You provide us the time and place and we will do the rest. Our volunteers provide a unique perspective due to the nature of their work and seeing what happens when people fall into bankruptcy.
  • Curriculum & Content to Teachers: Our content and presentations are free and available to teachers, educators and other members of the public. One of our commonly used resources is Jeopacardy, a mock version of Jeopardy! that tests knowledge on credit cards and other related information. For educators, visit: http://care4yourfuture.org/educators to learn more.

WHATS NEW

  • CARE Take: CARE recently developed a series of 60-second videos for students and parents on basic tenants of financial literacy. These videos are bite-sized lessons that can help student learn basic financial concepts quickly and be used by educators to help reinforce lessons that they are teaching in their classroom. To find the CARE Take videos and some of other favorite videos that we use during our presentations, visit: https://vimeo.com/care4yourfuture
  • Study to Test Effectiveness of Financial Education on Distressed Consumers: The American Bankruptcy Institute Endowment Fund recently commissioned a study to test whether original, re-conceived consumer education materials have a positive effect upon the financial health of struggling individuals. The findings will be used to help CARE program develop more targeted and refined educational materials for at-risk consumers and financially vulnerable groups. The study will be conducted over a two-year period and will examine 1,200 consumers who have been sued in credit card debt-collection proceedings in state courts. It will focus on the outcomes of three different means of assisting low-income persons in financial distress: (1) the provision of pro se educational materials (of original design); (2) an offer of assistance from a lawyer; and (3) financial education.

WHAT WE NEED

CARE needs financial support. Our programs and seminars currently reaches more than 40,000 students every school year, but we have plans to reach 60,000 students and beyond. As we enter a new chapter in the organization’s history, your financial support is needed now more than ever in order to further develop our educational materials to more effectively reach students and further our mission of becoming a leading provider in the financial literacy and education space. If you would like to learn more about the CARE program or make a donation to the CARE program, visit: https://www.razoo.com/us/story/Care4yourfuture

CONTACT INFORMATION

Anna M. Flores
Executive Director
(703) 894-5985
aflores@care4yourfuture.org
www.care4yourfuture.org