Award from AIG, Inc. will support workshops, info on smart financial and savings goals
The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team at Kirkwood Community College has been awarded an annual grant of $750 from AIG to participate in the Credit Counseling Challenge.
The SIFE program is part of a national grant effort through AIG. The SIFE team will design a three-year credit counseling program geared towards the specific needs of Kirkwood students. Financial education will include budgeting, credit usage and savings. Information will be integrated through Kirkwood ‘College 101’ courses and various workshops.
The goal of the SIFE team is to implement a program to be added to curriculum that educates students “on the issues and challenges that each group faces regarding the responsible use of credit.” To achieve this goal, SIFE will also be enlisting the expertise of college administrators and community volunteers.
To ensure the success of the program, AIG will conduct a training seminar in New York City on Feb 3-4, 2008 for one student to attend from each of the 120 participating campuses. Kirkwood SIFE team member Traci Zieser, a Management Development student, has been selected to attend the seminar and act as the Program Coordinator.
“I’m really excited that our team has been chosen for the AIG Credit Counseling Challenge since SIFE’s objective is to create economic opportunity by helping others,” Zieser said. “I am honored to be chosen to attend the seminar in New York City and can’t wait to share what I learn with the group so that we can develop a creative program and get this project up and running here at Kirkwood.”
Bob Walker, Kirkwood SIFE faculty advisor and Marketing professor will be participating at the AIG training on a panel discussion. “This is a great opportunity for our SIFE student and all the students at Kirkwood to learn about the wise use of credit. We are looking forward to bringing back great training tools and ideas that we can share with others,” Walker said.
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has awarded SIFE USA a total of $990,000 to pay for training and to fund the program. Upon conclusion of the three-year program (in the fall of 2010), for each team who successfully completes the AIG Credit Counseling Challenge, one student will be invited to attend an exclusive SIFE Credit Counseling Day to be recognized for their achievements.
Students, administrators and community members interested in participating in the Credit Counseling Challenge should contact SIFE advisor Bob Walker at 319-398-5526.