Free Online Game, $ky, Makes Financial Education a Fun Adventure for Teens
ATLANTA, December 29, 2016 – Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and Charles Schwab Foundation have been collaborating for more than 13 years to offer the successful Money Matters: Make it Count financial education program at Boys & Girls Clubs across the country. Now, the organizations are announcing a significant enhancement to the program with the launch of an interactive digital experience that engages teens and brings the lessons of Money Matters to life: $ky, a free, online game accessible to all teens and available as a tool for teachers everywhere.
With teens spending nearly $260 billion annually[1] and only 17 states requiring completion of at least one financially literacy course as a condition of high school graduation, today’s young people are spending and borrowing more than ever without understanding the basics of money management. The innovative $ky game aims to make financial education more accessible and relevant to help teens gain the skills they need to achieve long-term financial well-being. Within the $ky game, players navigate financial decisions and are rewarded for managing cash and credit wisely, adding a fun new way to learn these important life lessons to an already successful financial education curriculum.
“Every year, Money Matters makes a profound impact on Boys & Girls Club teens by teaching them the building blocks of financial well-being,” said Jim Clark, president and CEO of BGCA. “The introduction of the $ky digital game extends that offering beyond the walls of the Clubs to empower all teens to gain the crucial money management skills they need to help them achieve great futures.”
Educators and teens can access the game directly by visiting mmskygame.net and through the Boys & Girls Clubs teen site MyClubMyLife.com.
“Every year, Money Matters makes a profound impact on Boys & Girls Club teens by teaching them the building blocks of financial well-being,” said Jim Clark, president and CEO of BGCA. “The introduction of the $ky digital game extends that offering beyond the walls of the Clubs to empower all teens to gain the crucial money management skills they need to help them achieve great futures.”
Educators and teens can access the game directly by visiting mmskygame.net and through the Boys & Girls Clubs teen site MyClubMyLife.com.
“We developed the $ky game with the understanding that while financial education is crucial for today’s students, time and resources in the classroom are limited. We’ve always taken the approach that personal finance needs to be presented in a way that’s relevant for teens, and we knew that a fun, digital approach that can be accessed anywhere, any time would resonate with teens,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, president of Charles Schwab Foundation. “Our goal with both the digital $ky game and the Money Matters program as a whole is to influence as many teens as we can before they graduate from high school to prepare them for the realities of adult life and provide the resources they need to plan for the future.”
Since the inception of the Money Matters program in 2004, more than 725,000 Club teens have completed the program, and Charles Schwab Foundation has awarded more than $516,000 in scholarships to program participants who have demonstrated outstanding personal finance skills.
About Charles Schwab Foundation
Charles Schwab Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization funded by 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. The Charles Schwab Foundation is classified by the IRS as a charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is neither a part of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) nor its parent company, Charles Schwab Corporation.
Charles Schwab Foundation and Boys & Girls Clubs of America are unaffiliated entities.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,200 Clubs serve nearly four million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://www.bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.
