Welcome to the Woman's National Democratic Club

Dear Colleague,

I am writing to ask for your help in our efforts to ensure that our youth our prepared for their financial futures. In December 2009, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the National Financial Capability Challenge. They said that along with getting the economy back on track and getting smarter about financial regulation, we also need to make sure all Americans - but especially our youth - get the financial education they need to help them take responsibility for their financial futures. The Challenge - an awards program for educators and high schools students that aims to encourage the teaching of personal finance is an important first step in this effort.

Our goal is to get one million high school students to take the Challenge, which includes a voluntary online exam, by April 9, 2010. To make that happen, we'll need thousands of educators from across the country to register and get their students prepared. Two thousand educators have already signed up. It's a good start, but we have a long way to go.

We're writing to ask for your help.

Please support our effort to reach out to high school teachers - and other educators working with high school students age 13-19, such as librarians, youth group leaders, and after-school program staff - to encourage them to sign up for the Challenge at www.challenge.treas.gov by March 14.

All participating educators will receive access to a free online educators toolkit and personalized awards certificates, and educators in states with the highest participation rates will earn special distinction. But more important, their students will benefit from the skills they can gain from financial education.

Please consider taking these steps as an outreach partner:

Send a custom message directly to educators and/or people who work with them asking them to view the video message from Secretary Duncan and register for the Challenge by March 14th.