Citi and NFTE Launch Entrepreneurship Program at Mission High School

Entrepreneurship Program Launches at Mission High School

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 11, 2007 -- Today at Mission High School (3750 18th Street, San Francisco), the Citigroup Foundation and National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) launched an entrepreneurship education program for youth that is designed to improve their business, academic, and life skills. The program is made possible through a $100,000 Citigroup Foundation grant providing training, materials and program assistance in five California communities.

Mission High Principal Kevin Truitt, teachers, and students joined San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty, Citi executives Cheryl Evans and Leigh Wasson, and NFTE Bay Area Executive Director Gerald Richards to celebrate the investment in California's public schools. Mission High School will be the first of five schools across the State to receive the benefit of this collaboration. Schools located in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego regions will also be supported.

Through the Citigroup Foundation's generous donation and volunteer service from Citi employees, two Mission High School teachers will receive year round training, supplies and program assistance in order to support their teaching entrepreneurship and business classes. In these classes, students will learn writing, critical reasoning and math skills by learning how to build a business.

"Citigroup knows the value of young people learning about managing money and business from an early age," said Cheryl Evans, Community Relations Director for the Western Division of Citibank. "It is critical that we engage students in owning their futures and NFTE's entrepreneurship curriculum does just that. We are proud to partner with NFTE and continue our longstanding support of developing the financial literacy skills of our youth," continued Evans.

According to a recent study conducted by Harvard University Graduate School of Education, NFTE graduates' interest in college increased 32% and their occupational aspirations increased 44% after participating in the program. "We have seen what happens when students get engaged in their education; they want to learn when they have a practical way to apply the concepts rather than just rote memorization," said Gerald Richards, Executive Director of NFTE Bay Area.

Located in the heart of the Mission District, Mission High School serves approximately 1,000 students. With no ethnic group in the majority, over 50% of students at the School receive free or reduced lunch. "Our mission is to impact the futures of low income students by giving them the tools to take ownership over their education and lives," added Richards.

NFTE's Bay Area office opened in 1994 and has taught over 7,000 students the basics of starting and operating a small business. Originally launched in New York as a dropout prevention program, NFTE's entrepreneurship education program teaches low income students the business skills they need to start their own small business, while reinforcing basic academic skills. NFTE's goal is to give young people the silks and confidence to seize their true potential and improve their lives and communities.

About National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (www.nfte.com) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, whose mission is to teach entrepreneurship to young people from low-income communities to enhance their economic productivity by improving their business, academic, and life skills. Since 1987, NFTE has reached over 150,000 youth and trained more than 4,200 Certified Entrepreneurship Teachers. Currently NFTE has active programs in 27 states and 13 countries.

About Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Major brand names under Citi's trademark red arc include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney and Banamex. The Citigroup Foundation focuses its grants primarily in three areas: financial education, educating the next generation, and building communities and entrepreneurs. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

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