Millions of youth to benefit from 10-year commitment
ATLANTA – September 16, 2021 – Operation HOPE today announced that TIME for Kids is joining Financial Literacy for All (FL4A), a coalition dedicated to embedding financial literacy within American culture. Launched in May, FL4A is fueled by leaders from business, sports, media, entertainment, nonprofits and the public sector who have made a ten-year commitment to the initiative, co-chaired by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and John Hope Bryant, Founder and CEO of Operation HOPE. Built on the legacy of the global media brand TIME, TIME for Kids has delivered age-appropriate news and current-events content to millions of students in elementary and middle school classrooms across the U.S. for the last 25 years.
As part of this first-of-its-kind coalition, TIME for Kids joins BlackRock, FICO, First Horizon Bank, Mastercard, Nextdoor, Santander, Truist, and US Bank, along with FL4A founding members Ares Management, Bank of America, Delta Air Lines, Disney, Khan Academy, the NFL, the NBA, Walgreens, and Walmart. TIME for Kids’ involvement complements FL4A’s existing efforts to promote greater financial well-being among American working adults and young people.
TIME for Kids is immersing tomorrow’s leaders in conversations about today’s world in the way that youth like to learn. Through its unique platform, the company is helping families better understand the news and connect in meaningful ways.
“TIME for Kids’ mission is to enable kids to become critical thinkers and join the conversation about news and current events,” said Keith A. Grossman, President of TIME. “As part of this mission, we want every kid to be empowered with the resources they need to be financially literate. We are thrilled to join the Financial Literacy for All initiative to make that possible.”
According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, the majority of US workers – regardless of income– are living paycheck to paycheck, which indicates a need for improved financial literacy. Many Americans are spending most, or all, of their monthly income on expenses. Once essentials are paid, there is no money left over for savings, and many lack an overall understanding of financial well-being. Underscoring the need for FL4A, the National Financial Educators Council also estimates that financial illiteracy costs American families an estimated $415 billion each year.
“Our commitment to providing financial literacy for all, regardless of income or socioeconomic status, can create a sustainable framework of success and equity for future generations,” said Operation HOPE Founder, CEO and Chairman John Hope Bryant. “This is not just about the economy, this is social justice work. Through FL4A, our mission is to make the American dream available to all.”
Since its launch, Financial Literacy for All has:
- Forged an agreement on best practices and strategic rollout to all demographic groups at a plenary session hosted by the Disney Institute and Operation HOPE. Senior leaders from committed partner companies examined historical approaches to financial literacy, shared their experiences and outlined an actionable vision to develop a best practice model to reach all Americans.
- Posted a Resource Directory of nonprofits and agencies currently offering best-in-class resources in the financial literacy space, which will be periodically updated. The free directory is available on the FL4A website.
For more Information, visit, www.FL4A.org.
About TIME for Kids
Since 1995, TIME for Kids has delivered age-appropriate news and current-events content to millions of students in elementary and middle school classrooms across the U.S, and, since 2020, to homes, to keep kids learning, help them understand the news, and connect them to the world. Each week, TIME for Kids presents news in a format that teaches young readers to become critical thinkers and informed citizens. As an educational publication, the mission of TIME for Kids is to help teachers and parents engage kids with the world around them and inspire them to join the conversation about current events.
About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: www.OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Media Contacts:
Kristin Matzen, TIME
FL4A Partner Inquiries:
Kevin Boucher, Operation HOPE
kevin.boucher@operationhope.org
(213) 479-7833