Boys & Girls Clubs of America Survey Finds Teens Are Helping Make the Holiday Season Merry and Bright
December 14 2004 - 4:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Boys & Girls Clubs of America Survey Finds Teens Are Helping
Make the Holiday Season Merry and Bright Money Matters Financial
Literacy Program Helps Club Members Handle Money ATLANTA, Dec. 14
/PRNewswire/ -- U.S. retailers have good reason to be joyous this
holiday season ... adults are not the only consumers with big plans
for holiday spending. According to the new "Money Matters Holiday
Survey," the largest percentage of teens plan to spend more than
$100 on gifts this year and have been saving for one to three
months to be able to make these purchases. The survey, conducted by
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), includes insights from
more than 1,800 teen members of Clubs nationwide, many of whom have
participated in the Money Matters: Make It Count program, a joint
initiative of BGCA and The Charles Schwab Foundation launched
earlier this year to promote financial literacy among teens from
disadvantaged circumstances. And if the findings of the survey are
any indication, Money Matters appears to be working. The survey
revealed: * Twenty-one (21) percent of teens surveyed said they
plan to spend more than $100 on holiday gifts this year. *
One-third (32 percent) of teens surveyed said they began saving
money for gifts one to three months in advance of the holiday
season. * The largest percentage (31 percent) of respondents said
they plan to use their allowance to purchase this year's holiday
gifts. Twenty-four (24) percent said they will use money they
earned through part-time jobs. * Topping teens' wish list of gifts
to receive this year was money - in the form of cash or check -
followed by cell phones and other portable electronics. Money
Matters Participants Have Better Savings Habits * Sixty-four (64)
percent of survey respondents who had participated in the Money
Matters program said they had been saving for a month or more to
purchase holiday gifts while 49 percent who had not participated in
Money Matters said they had been for saving for a month or more. *
Only 12 percent of survey respondents who had participated in Money
Matters said they had not saved any money for gifts. Twenty-four
(24) percent who had not participated in the program said they had
not saved money. * Sixteen (16) percent of teens who had
participated in Money Matters said they were not sure how much they
were planning to spend on holiday gifts compared to the 23 percent
of teens who had not participated in Money Matters who stated they
were not sure what they were spending. "It is heart-warming to know
that our Club members are thinking of others this holiday season
and have already begun thinking about how they are going to
purchase gifts for those special people in their lives," said
Judith J. Pickens, senior vice president of program services at
BGCA. "Through programs like Money Matters, Boys & Girls Clubs
are able to help our teen members learn how to save money, develop
a budget and spend wisely, enabling them to purchase holiday gifts,
but also helping them to prepare for other important expenses, such
as their college education." Through fun, interactive activities
and exercises on topics like using a checking account, managing
debt, saving for college and the basics of investing, Money Matters
helps teens ages 13 to 18 learn practical ways to save, spend and
invest the money they earn. The program, which is available to all
Boys & Girls Clubs, helps members enhance their financial
skills through a variety of components, including a Teen Personal
Finance Guide, Facilitator's Guide and the Money Matters Web site
-- a secure site for teens. Money Matters also features the Schwab
Employee Volunteer Program, which allows Schwab employees to share
their financial expertise with teenage Club members and their
families. More than 36,000 teens are expected to complete the
program over the course of the next two years. About Boys &
Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (
http://www.bgca.org/ ) comprises a national network of some 3,400
neighborhood-based facilities annually serving more than 4 million
young people, primarily from disadvantaged circumstances. Known as
"The Positive Place for Kids," the Clubs provide guidance-oriented
character development programs on a daily basis for children and
teens, 6-18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional staff.
Key Boys & Girls Club programs emphasize character and
leadership development, education and career development, health
and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation. About
the Charles Schwab Foundation A division of The Charles Schwab
Corporation (NYSE:SCH), the Charles Schwab Foundation is committed
to giving back to the community by supporting employee-selected
causes and fostering financial literacy through funding,
involvement and expertise. The Charles Schwab Corporation
(NYSE:SCH) (NASDAQ:SCH), through its operating subsidiaries,
provides securities brokerage and financial services to individual
investors and the independent investment advisors who work with
them. With over 7 million individual investor accounts and more
than$1 trillion in client assets, The Charles Schwab Corporation is
one of the nation's largest financial services firms. Its
subsidiary Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) provides a
complete range of services and products, including an extensive
selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment
advice; retirement plans; referrals to independent fee-based
investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support
for independent fee-based investment advisors. Its subsidiary
Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage
services and products. The corporation's other operating
subsidiaries include U.S. Trust Corporation (member FDIC) and
CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member SIPC)., These companies' Web sites can
be reached at http://www.schwab.com/ , http://www.schwabbank.com/ ,
http://www.ustrust.com/ , and http://www.cybertrader.com/ ,
respectively. Boys & Girls Clubs of America's "Money Matters
Holiday Survey" was conducted online from Nov. 22 to Dec. 3, 2004,
and was completed by 1,803 Boys & Girls Club members ages
13-18. DATASOURCE: Boys & Girls Clubs of America CONTACT:
Lindsey Edmondson of Boys & Girls Clubs of America,+1-404-487-
5868, or ; or Stephanie Kannel of Patrice Tanaka & Company,
Inc., +1-212-229-0500, ext. 281, or Web site: http://www.bgca.org/
http://www.schwab.com/, http://www.schwabbank.com/
http://www.ustrust.com/ http://www.cybertrader.com/
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