Program Will Provide Financial Literacy Training to Underserved Youth in Harlem
Contact: Sherry John of Operation HOPE, 213-891-2908
NEW YORK, Dec. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ — NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE) is cooperating with Operation HOPE to provide volunteers to teach financial literacy to students in the New York inner city high schools for the following two years. The program aims to provide financial literacy training for 5,000 low-wealth high school students in Harlem.
NYSE Group will provide 30 employees, as part of the NYSE Community Volunteers program, to go into classrooms and educate low-wealth students in the Harlem area using their technical expertise. The group will provide information on financial management and investment that will enable youth to make solid choices and take immediate responsibility for their economic well-being through the Banking on Our Future program. Banking on Our Future is Operation HOPE’s award-winning financial literacy program designed to orient school-aged children on financial responsibility and is bolstered by a $100,000 two-year grant from the NYSE Foundation.
"There is poverty all over the globe, including right here in the United States. Hurricane Katrina showed that to the world," noted John Hope Bryant Operation HOPE Founder and CEO. "Right here in New York with the support of NYSE and through our ‘Banking on Our Future’ program, we are hoping to break the cycle of poverty by bringing financial literacy and silver rights to Harlem. Currently, the trend is that young people spend more than they save; they’re graduating high school and college with credit card debt. Our goal is to educate and empower them to make better financial decisions for themselves. We commend NYSE Group for their commitment to financial literacy and for helping to build a solid foundation for youth in underserved communities and help push them forward with valuable resources," adds Bryant.
The two year project will be part of NYSE Group’s Community Volunteer program, in which the company enables groups of employees to take a day away from their jobs to volunteer with a community organization. The volunteer program was initiated by the NYSE Diversity Council with the support of CEO John A. Thain. The NYSE Group-Operation HOPE program was among those announced by President Bill Clinton at the kickoff of the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative earlier this year.
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About Operation HOPE Inc.
Founded in 1992 Operation HOPE Inc. (HOPE) is America’s first nonprofit social investment bank and a national provider of financial literacy and economic empowerment programs. Through ongoing collaborations and long-term partnerships with leading government, private sector, and community interests, HOPE works to bring self-sufficiency and a sustained spirit of revitalization to America’s inner-city communities. At the core of HOPE’s mission to eradicate poverty and empower the wealthless is a movement to establish "Silver Rights" or the right to financial literacy, access to capital, and equality of opportunity for the underserved. Three key initiatives work to fulfill HOPE’s goals "Banking on Our Future (BOOF)," HOPE Coalition (HCA) and HOPE Centers.
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About NYSE Group Inc.
NYSE Group Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") and NYSE Arca, Inc. (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx(R), and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services. In the third quarter of 2006, on an average trading day, 2.2 billion shares, valued at $80.1 billion, were traded on the exchanges of the NYSE Group.
The NYSE is the world’s largest and most liquid cash equities exchange. The NYSE provides a reliable, orderly, liquid and efficient marketplace where investors buy and sell listed companies’ common stock and other securities. On September 30, 2006, the operating companies listed on the NYSE represented a total global market capitalization of $23 trillion.
NYSE Arca operates NYSE Arca Inc., the first open, all- electronic stock exchange in the United States, and has a leading position in trading exchange-traded funds and exchange-listed securities. NYSE Arca Inc. is also an exchange for trading equity options. NYSE Arca’s trading platforms provide customers with fast electronic execution and open, direct and anonymous market access.
NYSE Regulation, an independent not-for-profit subsidiary, regulates member organizations through the enforcement of marketplace rules and federal securities laws. NYSE Regulation also ensures that companies listed on the NYSE and NYSE Arca meet their financial and corporate governance listing standards. For more information on NYSE Group, go to: http://www.nyse.com.