SunTrust Bank and the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce announces
a Financial Literacy Program Partnership
NASHVILLE, TN: Nashville
Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce announced today a campaign, in conjunction with SunTrust Bank, to promote financial
literacy and raise awareness among Nashville’s Hispanic population. “Today,
nearly 40 million Hispanics reside in the United States,”
said Tatia Cummings, Emerging Markets Coordinator at SunTrust. “But half
of that population—nearly 20 million Hispanics—do not have a basic bank account, and little or no understanding
of how money works in our society. Without this knowledge, they are deprived of the dream of building wealth or buying a home. Financial education holds the key to financial independence, and we can help.”
The month-long campaign
will include classes using the Money Smart curriculum, designed by the FDIC, which has modules on banking, credit, budgeting,
saving, credit cards, loans, home ownership, and more. The classes begin November
8, 2005 and will run through December 13th. The classes will take
place as follows:
Wednesday, November 9 Basic Banking - 5:00 pm- 6:00 pm
Tuesday, November 15 Pay
Yourself First - 5:00 pm- 6:00 pm
Tuesday, December 6 Your
own Home - 5:00
pm- 6:00 pm
Tuesday, December 13
Business Banking -
5:00 pm- 6:00 pm
“A
collective effort is needed in order to help new populations in the process of
accessing banking alternatives, an important ingredient to this process is education. But
it is not only that, developing a trusting relationship with the community is also key. The NAHCC came on board to help with
this very much-needed program not
only for individuals but for prospective business owners. Considering that U.S. Hispanic
purchasing power has surged to nearly $700 billion and is projected to reach as much as $1 trillion by 2007 I firmly believe this will be a learning experience for us all.” Says Yuri Cunza, President of the Nashville
Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
According to
Cunza, recently released U.S Census data indicates that the number of Hispanic-owned businesses
in 2002, grew up to 1.6 million that equals to 31 percent more from 1997. Their receipts were $226.5 billion, up 22 percent
from 1997.
The classes
will be taught in Spanish at the SunTrust Branch in Nolensville Rd
4310 Nolensville Pike in Nashville. The Financial Literacy
Program sessions will be offered free of charge.
For more information or to enroll please contact SunTrust 615.748.4847 or the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 615.216.5737 or via e-mail: info@nashvillehispanicchamber.com.
