Kansas City, Mo. — [March 30, 2015] — Madison MacEachen ’15 who attends Saint Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio has been awarded a $20,000 scholarship through the H&R Block Budget Challenge — a teen financial literacy program that rewards high school students and classes for mastering real-world budgeting and personal finance decision-making. Ms. MacEachen is one of 66 winners nationwide.
The learn-by-doing educational approach of the H&R Block Budget Challenge allows students to experience activities like paying bills, managing expenses, saving money, investing in retirement, paying taxes and more in the safety of a classroom. The program was created to help address the need for more financial education in the classroom. Only 7 percent of high school students1 are financially literate and fewer than 30 percent2 of adults report being offered financial education at school or college. The state of Ohio currently requires a one-semester course in financial education to graduate.
“We’re proud of Madison to be among the top-performing students in the country for the H&R Block Budget Challenge,” said Craig Maliborski, Saint Ursula Academy Principal. “Financial literacy is important to the future success of our students and we’re thrilled there’s such a hands-on platform through which they can learn.”
Saint Ursula Academy was among the first schools to test the Budget Challenge program during its pilot programming phase. The H&R Block Budget Challenge is free to high school teachers and home school educators3. Participants play classroom against classroom and student against student, competing for $3 million in grants, scholarships and cash prizes in the 2014/2015 school year. Three simulations will launch this spring and teacher registration is open at HRBDS.org.
For more information on the H&R Block Budget Challenge, visit hrbds.org.
###
About H&R Block Dollars & Sense
H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) is the world’s largest consumer tax services provider. More than 650 million tax returns have been prepared worldwide by and through H&R Block since 1955. H&R Block Dollars & Sense helps increase financial literacy among teenagers through curriculum and resources, grants to supplement the cost of personal finance education and scholarships to help young Americans pay for higher education. Since 2009, H&R Block Dollars & Sense has donated more than $4 million in grants and scholarships. For more information, visit the H&R Block Newsroom or hrbds.org.
About ProperLiving
Based out of Cincinnati, Ohio, ProperLiving, LLC owns and operates the Budget Challenge Personal Finance Simulation, which received a U.S. patent in May 2013. The program teaches not only financial principles, but practical personal finance behaviors, knowledge and skill. The real-time simulation exposes students to the nuts and bolts of receiving a paycheck, paying bills and maximizing savings within a typical household budget. The repetitive tasks of receiving and paying bills, combined with consequences of action or inaction, produce real financial habits and confidence.
About Saint Ursula Academy
St. Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. St. Ursula welcomes students from more than 70 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. In 2002 the Academy was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. The Class of 2014 earned college scholarships totaling more than $20-million.