2007 Topic Competition Report For USA

In 2007, 151 SIFE USA teams competed in the HSBC Financial Literacy Individual Topic Competition by submitting 2-page summaries on financial literacy projects. The top 20 were selected by a panel of HSBC executives and awards made during the 17 SIFE USA Regional Competitions including trophies and cash prizes. The top 3 of those 20 were named National HSBC Financial Literacy Individual Topic Competition winners at the SIFE USA National Exposition.

National First Place

Louisiana State University at Eunice, Louisiana, United States

LSU Eunice SIFE taught individuals how to begin achieving financial independence and planning for retirement early by investing in equity mutual funds; specifically, Roth IRA's. The team also constructed financial planning presentations and seminars targeted specifically for low-income families. Presentations focused on using finances spent on unhealthy personal habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and consuming junk food to reduce debt and build a healthy retirement portfolio. Over 1,500 low-income families participated.

National Second Place

Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, United States

Two of the TSU SIFE Team's projects presented financial literacy topics in the form of an American game show and a globally broadcast videoconference financial literacy session. The game show project capitalized on the popularity of current financial self-help television programming to address numerous financial literacy topics in a playful fashion. The videoconferencing project included a partnership with a learning center in Hong Kong and allowed the team's message to breech time zones and cultural barriers through the sharing of 11 financial literacy projects. More than 2,400 people of all age groups were reached through these projects.

National Third Place

Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina, United States

Winthrop University SIFE delivered financial management workshops to 200 military men and women reservists at Fort Stuart, Georgia before their deployment to Afghanistan. The SIFE team developed a program to review the most important and basic financial skills with these families such as budgeting, managing credit, and the power of investing, and provide them with information on available community resources.

• Top 20 2007 Topic Competition Reports

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