For release: September 11, 2017
Contact: Coordinator contact info
LOCATION WHERE COORDINATOR IS BASED – Today marks the official launch of a new season of LifeSmarts in NAME OF STATE, with the online competition going live at LifeSmarts.org. LifeSmarts, a program of the National Consumers League (NCL), is a national competition for middle school and high school students that tests knowledge of real-life consumer issues and aims to create a future generation of savvy-consumer adults. In NAME OF STATE, LifeSmarts is coordinated by XYZ.
“We are very excited to launch our 24th season of LifeSmarts,” said national Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “LifeSmarts gives students the skills they need to succeed as adults. We see students gain knowledge, confidence, leadership, and teamwork. What they gain through LifeSmarts will help them throughout their lives.”
LifeSmarts focuses on five main content areas: consumer rights and responsibilities, personal finance, technology, health and safety, and the environment. Students are quizzed on their knowledge of these subject areas during online competition. Top-performing teams then advance to statewide competitions, and state champion teams advance to the national championship held each year in a different American city. The 2018 National LifeSmarts Championship will take place April 21-24, in San Diego, CA. Winning teams receive scholarships and other prizes.
Last year, students answered more than 3 million consumer questions about credit reports, recycling, nutrition, social media, state lemon laws, and everything in between. OPTIONAL SENTENCE HERE ABOUT PARTICIPATION IN STATE / LAST YEAR’S STATE CHAMPIONS, FACTOID ABOUT HOW THE PROGRAM HAS GROWN, ETC.
“We are excited to partner with the National Consumers League to bring LifeSmarts to NAME OF STATE,” said COORDINATOR AND TITLE. “Too often traditional high school curriculum in NAME OF STATE comes up short in teaching students vital real-world information that will be crucial for leaving home, going to college, or getting their first job. LifeSmarts fills that gap in NAME OF STATE, and we are looking forward to another great year.”
In addition to hosting the official LifeSmarts competition, LifeSmarts.org provides resources for teachers to supplement existing lesson plans. These include daily quizzes, educational videos, instructional PowerPoint presentations, focused study guides, and scholarship opportunities. LifeSmarts lessons closely align with courses taught in Family and Consumer Sciences, business, technology, health, and vocational education. Math and English teachers have also had success with LifeSmarts, as have homeschool and community educators.
Major LifeSmarts contributors include: Experian, Underwriters Laboratories, Western Union, LifeLock, Comcast NBC Universal, Intuit, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, American Express Company, and others. Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information. LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.
###
About LifeSmarts
LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.
