BankingonOurFuture.org gives teachers and students free access to award-winning money management tools and curriculums

(BLACK PR WIRE) (May 20, 2009) NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Operation HOPE (HOPE), a global organization dedicated to promoting financial literacy and empowerment in low-wealth, underserved communities, today announced the launch of a new website designed to give youth the tools, knowledge and motivation they need to develop healthy financial habits.
BankingonOurFuture.org provides free online access to the award-winning Banking on Our Future financial literacy program, teaching students ages 9 to 18 the basics of banking, credit, checking, savings, borrowing and investing, and other key money management topics. The curriculums employ specialized web video modules designed for elementary, middle and high school/adult level students, and may be accessed 24/7. In addition, teachers may request volunteer banker-teachers to participate in live classroom sessions.

We must teach our youth the language of money the importance of respecting, saving and spending money wisely in order to resolve many of the social and economic issues our world faces today, said John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE. Now, with the help of E*TRADE and HOPE’s signature partners, every teacher, student, parent and community group will have access to the tried and true Banking on Our Future program, which is part of our silver rights mission to provide financial literacy and personal empowerment.

Banking on Our Future is the recipient of Oprah’s Angel Network Use Your Life Award and the U.S. Treasury Departments John Sherman Award for Financial Literacy Excellence; and it is the national partner for financial literacy empowerment for Nelson Mandela Childrens Fund in South Africa. With the support of key partners including E*TRADE and volunteer banker-teachers, Operation HOPE’s Banking on Our Future program has reached more than 380,000 students in 1,200 schools nationwide (at no cost to the schools) since its establishment in 1996. Through the launch of BankingonOurFuture.org, Operation HOPE aims to reach a total of five million youth by 2014 part of HOPE’s 5MK initiative.

It is never too early to start learning the fundamentals of money management, said Celie Niehaus, Vice President, E*TRADE Bank. Banking on Our Future is a proven education program that teaches kids the value of money and the importance of credit. As a banker-teacher, I’ve seen first hand how much of an impact the program has on youth and how they think of money. E*TRADE has served as the signature sponsor of the program since 2005 and we are proud to partner with Operation HOPE to expand access to all through bankingonourfuture.org.

For more information, visit www.BankingonOurFuture.org or www.OperationHOPE.org, or call Jennifer Cohen at (917) 477-2822.

About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Operation HOPE is America's leading nonprofit social investment banking and financial literacy empowerment organization. With more than 400 private sector partners, 1500 nonprofit organizations and schools, and 100 government partners in 68 major U.S. cities and five provinces South Africa, HOPE has raised more than $500 million in its pursuit of educating, assisting and inspiring the next generation of global stakeholders. Through international initiatives and its three principal programs, Banking on Our Future (teaching school children about money), HOPE Coalition America (Mortgage HOPE Crisis Hotline, 1-888-388-HOPE, financial emergency preparedness and disaster relief), and Walk-In HOPE Centers (loans, bill pay, computer literacy, understanding banking principles), Operation HOPE has delivered services to more than one million low-wealth individuals and assumed the responsibility of piloting the Silver Rights Movement towards making free enterprise and capitalism relevant to all underserved communities. To learn more about HOPE, visit www.operationhope.org or read the blog at www.operationhope.org/blog.

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