Cambridge Credit Announces the “Learn Now Or Pay Later” Financial Literacy Rally

Non-Profit Credit Counseling Organization Partners With The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and USA Today in An Innovative Effort to Bring Financial Education to High School Students

Agawam, MA (PRWEB) December 7, 2004

As part of its ongoing “Net Gain” financial education initiative, Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. will be holding “Learn Now or Pay Later” financial literacy rallies at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, and in Boston’s Fleet Center throughout the month of December. The rallies are being held in conjunction with Cambridge’s partnership with the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and USA Today’s “Newspapers in Education” program. The two rallies are expected to involve approximately 1,200 New England area high school students.

Cambridge, the Hall of Fame, and USA Today have collaborated on the “Net Gain” program, which is based on articles appearing in USA Today’s newspaper and the “Learn Now or Pay Later” curriculum developed by Cambridge’s education division, GoodPayer.com. Through the “Net Gain” program, students learn about a variety of financial topics including credit cards, the importance of building wealth, checking accounts, and credit scores. Approximately 360,000 high school students are expected to participate in the “Net Gain” program over the next 3 years.

The first rally will be held on December 8, 2004 at 9:30AM at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The students will be participating in a variety of activities designed to educate them about personal finance, in addition to trivia games and a talk from former NBA player Donny Marshall about the importance of making good financial decisions.

“These rallies are a real opportunity to teach our youth the importance of personal financial management,” said Chris Viale, President and CEO of Cambridge. “High school students are a particularly important group to reach, since most of them will soon be receiving offers for credit, if they haven’t already. Young adults make up a larger and larger portion of bankruptcy filings each year, and the best way to help them avoid such a bad financial experience in the future is to teach them how to make good financial choices today.”

The second rally will be held December 15, 2004 at 3:30PM at the Fleet Center in Boston, and will feature former Boston Celtic and Basketball Hall of Famer Jo Jo White.

“We want to extend our thanks and appreciation for all the work that the Hall of Fame and USA Today have done to help make the “Net Gain” program a success,” said Viale. “This is a really innovative program that is going to reach hundreds of thousands of high school students. It’s been our experience that teachers and parents alike see a need for financial education in schools that is not being met. The partnership that we have formed with the Basketball Hall of Fame and USA Today shows how organizations can take the initiative to come together and give our communities what they need, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

About Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp.

Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp., a 501 (C) (3) Not-for-Profit organization, provides credit counseling, educational assistance and budget planning services to clients throughout the United States. Since its incorporation in 1996, Cambridge Credit has assisted over 2 million consumers. Cambridge Credit is registered with ISO 9001, the standard accepted worldwide for organizational efficiency. For more information about Cambridge Credit, contact: Chris Viale, Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. at 413.821.6919, (m) 413.627.6946, or visit http://www.cambridge-credit.org

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