FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Elena Temple-Webb (USCM) June 17, 2011 202-861-6719 (etemple@usmayors.org) Justin Tang (USCM/Dollar Wi$e) 202-861-6759 (jtang@usmayors.org) Brice Freeman (MOED) 410-396-1910 (bfreeman@oedworks.com) Kate Schmelyun (MOED) 410-396-7336 (kschmelyun@oedworks.com)

BALTIMORE RECEIVES GRANT FOR SUMMER YOUTH FINANCIAL EDUCATION INITIATIVE

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake accepts $4,000 grant from DollarWI$E program to help fund the financial literacy component of Baltimore City’s YouthWorks summer jobs program. BALTIMORE, MD —The United States Conference of Mayors’ DollarWise campaign for financial literacy formally awarded a $4,000 grant to the City of Baltimore, Maryland as a part of its efforts with the DollarWise Summer Youth Campaign. As a result of this grant, YouthWorks 2011 participants, ages 14 to 21, will receive financial literacy education. The award was presented to the Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on the opening day of the Conference’s 79th Annual Meeting, taking place June 17 through the 21st , hosted this year by the City of Baltimore. “I applaud Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and her city’s effort to be a true role model in financial education,” said Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz, President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. “We are seeing now more than ever the impact that financial education can have on not just individual but community and national economic prosperity, especially during a teachable moment such as those made possible by the YouthWorks summer jobs program.” In Baltimore, the DollarWise grant will be used to provide all YouthWorks worksite supervisors with training so that they can infuse a financial literacy curriculum into each participant’s summer work experience. Students will be encouraged to open checking and savings accounts, and incentives will be awarded to all YouthWorks participants who save $100 or more by the end of the program. The six-week, 25-hour per week YouthWorks summer jobs program is operated by the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development. The 2011 YouthWorks program will run June 27 through August 5. “On behalf of the thousands of young Baltimoreans who will benefit from this grant, I’d like to express my appreciation to the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the DollarWise campaign,” said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “This financial literacy training will benefit our young workers this summer as part of our YouthWorks program now and well into the future, helping them to maximize their earnings and make smart money management decisions.” The DollarWise Summer Youth Campaign is underwritten by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the founding sponsor of DollarWise. Bank of America’s support allows DollarWise to award grants of $4,000 each to five cities across America for their efforts to incorporate financial education in their summer youth employment programs. These programs often offer the first time when participating youth receive a paycheck, creating a teachable moment where they learn the value of earning a paycheck along with the importance of savings, and other educational and career-building topics. The DollarWise Summer Youth Campaign (SYC) was launched in 2009. Its goal is to make financial education an integral component of every SYEP job throughout the country. Other awardees this summer include Columbus (OH), Fresno, Phoenix, and Seattle. Past winners include Baton Rouge, Charlotte (NC), Houston, Norwalk (CT), and Philadelphia. The SYC grants were first awarded in 2010. The application period for the Summer Youth Campaign 2012 grants is expected to take place in December 2011 and January 2012. DollarWise grew out of a desire of members of the Conference of Mayors’ Council for the New American City (CNAC) to help consumers learn more about financial issues and to empower them to become investors in their communities, especially through homeownership. CNAC is a coalition of nonprofit groups, corporations, and businesses that share a common goal of increasing investment in American cities. # # #