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Meet BGCA's Money Matters Ambassador
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Media Contacts:
2009 Teen Ambassador Tory Myles Selected to Represent
Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s and Charles Schwab Foundation’s Financial
Education Program
Ambassador Will Promote Financial
Literacy to Teens Nationwide
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25, 2009 – Eighteen-year-old Tory Myles
of Washington, D.C., has been chosen for the prestigious honor of serving as
National Ambassador for Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Money Matters: Make
it CountSM program. As 2009 ambassador, Myles will apply her
enthusiastic personality and persuasive style to promote financial literacy
among her peers at Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the nation.
Through Money Matters, the high school senior and member of the Boys & Girls
Clubs of Greater Washington (D.C.) has become skilled at making smart
financial decisions, including opening and maintaining checking and savings
accounts, calculating how to afford a mobile phone and packing her lunch
instead of buying it every day. Myles has also secured two part-time jobs –
one as a legal intern and the other as a Boys & Girls Club Junior Staff
member.
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Eighteen-year-old Tory
Myles of Washington, D.C., has been chosen as National Ambassador for
BGCA’s Money Matters: Make it Count program.
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In fact, at her Boys & Girls Club Myles began teaching Money Matters to
pre-teen friends enrolled in the Club summer camp. “I wanted to give back
what I’d learned to the younger group,” Myles explains.
Myles also received a $5,000 scholarship from Charles Schwab Foundation,
sponsor of the Money Matters program. Fifteen additional Boys & Girls Club
teens were each awarded a $2,000 college scholarship from the Foundation for
their achievement in gaining money management knowledge and skills.
A Good Example Is the Best Teacher.
Much of Myles’ inspiration and success can be sourced to her Boys & Girls
Club. Asked who most inspires her, Myles quickly responds, "Miss T" (Tamika
Joyner), my teen director – she’s so powerful and encouraging. She motivates
so many teenagers to make the right decisions.”
She also cites Joshua Carter, the 2008 and first-ever Money Matters
Ambassador. “I met Josh at the Boys & Girls Club summer program. We
connected and became very good friends. Before he graduated, he told me
about the ambassador program. I learned how he was using that scholarship
for school, and he inspired me to do the same.”
Myles has already been accepted at five colleges, and is looking forward to
making a selection and beginning her freshman year in the fall. “Before
Money Matters, I didn't realize that if you receive financial aid, you have
to pay it back,” she says. “So I applied for more scholarships so I can cut
back on loans.”
The Power of Positive Peer Pressure
“Tory embodies the power of positive peer influence,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz,
president of Charles Schwab Foundation. “Last year’s ambassador, Joshua
Carter, inspired her by communicating the benefits of financial education.
And Tory stated in her application a desire to ‘pay that forward,’ saying
that her first step as ambassador would be to ‘find 10 of my friends at
school and invite them to my Club.’ This young lady has a natural ability to
express ideas and to generate enthusiasm among her peers.”
“By her own admission, Tory was shy when she joined the Club,” said BGCA
President and CEO Roxanne Spillett. “But she became a very active
participant in several Club programs, and her passion for Money Matters was
evident from the start. Tory’s ability to teach younger Club members the
basics of Money Matters makes this a true, generation-changing program.”
Full list of Money Matters college scholarship recipients:
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Michelle Bearden, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Smoky
Mountains (Sevierville, Tenn.)
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Andrea Castellano, Pueblo of Pojoaque Boys & Girls Club
(Sante Fe, N.M.)
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Morgan Coyt, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta
(Atlanta, Ga.)
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Destiny Fletcher, Yokota Teen Center (Japan)
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Timmon Goins, The Educational Alliance Boys & Girls Club
(New York N.Y.)
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Jerry Hendrix, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint
(Flint, Mich.)
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Orlando Jones – Boys & Girls Club of Phillips County
(West Helena, Ark.)
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Tory Myles – Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington
(Silver Spring, Md.)
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Winnie Phan, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco (San
Francisco, Calif.)
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Christopher Rivera – The Educational Alliance Boys &
Girls Club (New York, N.Y.)
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Charmaine Seguro – Boys & Girls Club of El Sobrante (El
Sobrante, Calif.)
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Tony Spears, Boys & Girls Club of Bellville (Bellville,
Texas)
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Margaret-Elizabeth Troxell, SHAPE Child & Youth Services
(Belgium)
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Alexis Turner, Boys & Girls Club of Noblesville
(Noblesville, Ind.)
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Carly Vardian, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale
(Scottsdale, Ariz.)
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Ayanna T. Wade – Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta
(Atlanta, Ga.)
About Money Matters: Make It Count
Funded by Charles Schwab Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Money
Matters program is designed to promote money management skills among teens,
ages 13-18. The program consists of fun, interactive activities and
exercises on topics such as using a checking account, managing debt, saving
for college and learning the basics of investing. The program is available
to all Boys & Girls Clubs that serve teens and is targeted primarily at
teens from underserved communities. Since it was launched in 2003, more than
120,000 teens in 1,100 Boys & Girls Clubs across the U.S. have gone through
the program.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has been changing and
saving young lives, providing hope and opportunity for kids who need them
most. Today, some 4,300 Clubs serve some 4.8 million young people through
Club membership and community outreach. Known as The Positive Place for
Kids, Boys & Girls Clubs can be found all across the country and on U.S.
military bases throughout the world. Clubs provide young people 6-18 years
old with guidance-oriented character development programs conducted by
trained, professional staff. In communities large and small, Clubs
positively impact lives and help young people reach their full potential as
productive, caring citizens. Key Boys & Girls Club programs emphasize
leadership development; education and career exploration; community service;
financial literacy; health and life skills; the arts; sports, fitness and
recreation; and family outreach. In a recent Harris Survey of Club alumni,
57 percent said the Club saved their life. National headquarters are located
in Atlanta.
About Charles Schwab
The Charles Schwab Corporation (Nasdaq:SCHW) is a leading provider of
financial services, with more than 300 offices and 7.4 million client
brokerage accounts, 1.4 million corporate retirement plan participants,
447,000 banking accounts, and $1.1 trillion in client assets. Through its
operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities
brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to
individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer
subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC,
http://www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer
a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive
selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice;
retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to
independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and
trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through its
Advisor Services division. The Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC) provides
banking and mortgage services and products. More information is available at
www.schwab.com.
About Charles Schwab Foundation
Charles Schwab Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization funded by the
Charles Schwab Corporation. Its mission is to create positive change through
financial education, philanthropy, and volunteerism. More information is
available at
www.aboutschwab.com/community.
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In 2008, BGCA served 415 Youth Centers located on U.S. military installations – including 141 overseas – assisting some 480,000 youth from military families.
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