DYK 1
University administrators state that they lose more students to credit card debt than to academic failure.

Source: Utah Mentor, 2003: The Voice Digital News, 2003

 Welcome to Jump$tart Washington

Jump$tart Washington is a nonprofit coalition created to promote the need for financial education in Washington State. In 2009, we provided teacher training seminars, special events for students and succeeded in reaching thousands of consumers throughout the state. Our members include individuals, public and private organizations, educators, and non-profit associations – each passionate about making change and advancing our goal to:

  • Raise awareness for the need and importance of personal financial literacy
  • Increase the use of financial education programs in school and homes
  • Grow support for the coalition

Jump$tart Washington Vision Statement

Financial empowerment for Washington residents.


Jump$tart Washington Mission Statement

Jump$tart Washington promotes the development of personal finance skills  of Washington residents, with emphasis on education for K-college youth.

  

 News from JumpStart Washington
»  Participate in the National Financial Capability Challenge - Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Calling all educators!  Washington Jump$tart is encouraging teachers to have their students participate in the National Financial Capability Challenge. It is designed to increase the financial knowledge and capability of high-school aged youth across the United States. It challenges youth to take control of their financial future by learning more about personal finance, and it challenges educators and schools to incorporate the important information and topics into their curricula.

Any educator working with high school students may sign up to administer the Challenge. This includes high school teachers and librarians, after-school program staff, youth group leaders, home-school parents, and others. For your students to take the National Financial Capability Challenge, you must first register on this site. Registration will enable you to access the educator toolkit, a free resource for educators.

 read more ...
»  America Saves Week - Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Washington Jump$tart Coalition is participating in America Saves Week, February 21-28, 2010.  This is a national social marketing campaign that highlights to importance of savings, reducing debt and building wealth.  Due to last year’s campaign, nearly 20,000 people opened or added to savings products, saving $47 million.

The goal of America Saves Week is to generate targeted activities from a variety of organizations across the region resulting in behavior change among individuals and families. To learn more visit: Washington Saves Week by clicking here or www.americasavesweek.org

 
 Washington Students Are Failing

In 2008, Washington high school students failed the national financial literacy survey administered by Jump$tart (48.6% correct answers) . The results from Washington State look discouraging. Although slightly better than the national average, seniors here failed with a score of 48.6%. Alarmingly, Washington's numbers took a drastic decline from the 2006 survey. Washington slid 11.6% while the national score declined 7.8%.

 What Can You Do To Help?

Join Washington’s Jump$tart Coalition. Help us get financial education into classrooms and homes and into the hands of organizations interested in impacting the lives of students in Washington.

The coalition is affiliated with the National Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy in Washington, D.C. For more information about Jump$tart’s national efforts, visit www.jumpstart.org.