PwC Announces $160 Million Commitment to Advance Youth Education and Financial Literacy in the U.S.

CHICAGO, June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) meeting, PwC US announced PwC's Earn Your Future, the firm's new Commitment to Action.

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PwC's Earn Your Future will focus on two major gaps in the education system: a lack of financial literacy among youth and the lack of training opportunities for educators. The commitment will invest $160 million—$60 million in cash donations and one million service hours worth $100 million—in youth education, impacting more than 2.5 million students and educators in the United States. Over the next five years, PwC will leverage its 35,000 people and its people's core skillset to improve and develop the financial competency of American youth.

According to the Charles Schwab Teens & Money Survey, 35 percent of teens do not know how to write a check. A University of Wisconsin-Madison study found that fewer than 20 percent of teachers feel prepared to teach financial literacy, although 13 states require personal finance coursework as a high school graduation requirement.

"Youth education is one of the most important issues facing our country today," said Bob Moritz, PwC's U.S. Chairman and Senior Partner. "All of us – businesses, educators, and community members – need to step up to address this issue. We have a team of ready and able subject matter experts who are eager to fill the gap. At PwC, we are leveraging our best asset, our people, to make a real, tangible difference in the lives of millions."

As part of PwC's Earn Your Future commitment, the firm has developed a set of 18 ready-to-use financial literacy modules for grades 3-12 that are available free of charge and can be used in schools across the country to teach students about topics such as credit and debits, identity theft, and saving money.  The firm is also maintaining and expanding its relationship with existing national and local nonprofit partners, such as the MIND Research Institute, Junior Achievement, and DonorsChoose.org, providing more opportunities for its people to share their expertise in finance and accounting and volunteer in classrooms.

"DonorsChoose.org is excited to hear about PwC's Earn Your Future and especially excited to see its emphasis on capacity building among students," said Charles Best, founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org.  "We look forward to continuing our partnership with PwC to support our nation's students in developing skills for a successful future."

To help support educators, PwC has partnered with Knowledge@Wharton High School (KWHS) to roll out a series of teacher training seminars. KWHS, a member of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, aims to promote global financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership among high school students and educators. These jointly sponsored teacher training seminars will help educators deepen their subject-area knowledge and provide them with a financial literacy-focused curriculum to teach their students. The teacher training series kicks off with the first annual PwC-KWHS Seminar for High School Educators on Business & Financial Responsibility this fall, at which hundreds of teachers will gather for a 3-day, intense learning experience, co-taught by Wharton professors and PwC leaders. Topics will include savings and investments, risk management, and negotiation tactics. At the end of the seminar, teachers will receive a certificate from Knowledge@Wharton.

"Knowledge@Wharton High School is thrilled to partner with PwC because combined, we can make a powerful difference in the lives of teachers by building up their skillsets," said Mukul Pandya, executive director/editor-in-chief of Knowledge@Wharton. "Through this seminar, we'll be equipping hundreds of educators from across the country with a deeper background in the subject and giving them relevant, easy-to-use lesson plans and activities for their classrooms."

In addition to teacher training opportunities, PwC has created the High School Business Challenge, an interactive program that tasks students with creating a business plan while introducing them to core business concepts such as market research, budgeting, and financial planning. The national program will kick-off in fall 2012 and will conclude with an awards ceremony in early 2013.

PwC's Earn Your Future also builds upon the firm's commitment to service and volunteerism:

• PwC's internal service programs such as the Summer of Community Service, Project Belize, and the Well-Being Rewards programs.
• Whether through volunteering, making monetary donations, or just a shared spirit of caring and giving, the PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc. is committed to engaging with the people of PwC in the community. This month, the Foundation will launch the Dollars for Doers program, which rewards and recognizes community volunteerism by providing grants to nonprofit organizations where PwC's people donate at least 25 hours of their time. The Foundation will also provide more than $500,000 in grant funding to approximately 50 universities through the PwC INQuires program, which helps U.S. universities develop accounting curricula, increase diversity initiatives, and support faculty research.

For more information on PwC's corporate responsibility commitments, programs, and initiatives as well as a fact sheet detailing PwC's Earn Your Future, please visit www.PwC.com/us/corporateresponsibility.  

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About the Clinton Global Initiative

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have made more than 2,100 commitments, which are already improving the lives of nearly 400 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $69.2 billion.

CGI's Annual Meeting is held each September in New York City. CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. The CGI U 2012 meeting will be hosted by the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

About CGI America

President Clinton established the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) to address economic recovery in the United States. CGI America brings together leaders in business, government, and civil society to generate and implement commitments to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, foster innovation, and support workforce development in the United States. Since its first meeting in June 2011, CGI America participants have made more than 100 commitments valued at $11.8 billion. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will improve the lives of three million people, create or fill more than 150,000 jobs, and invest and loan $354 million to small and medium enterprises in the United States. The 2012 CGI America meeting will take place June 7-8 in Chicago. To learn more, visit cgiamerica.org.

SOURCE PwC