America Saves
America Saves is a program of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and is a national effort aimed at teaching and motivating students to save money through financial action—making a commitment that:
1)    They will spend less than they make and save the difference.
2)    They will save the difference by making a plan as to where they will save (bank, credit union, U.S. Savings Bonds), how they will do it (direct deposit, walking into the bank, sending in money to their account), when they will do it (the beginning of every month, the 15th of the month) and have in mind what they will save for (car, house, events, emergency fund, college, dates).
3)    They will make it automatic—get it out of their hand or pocket by direct deposits into their account or by having their parents make the deposits.
    This online enrollment program is successful with over 5,000 youth who are saving between $16.00–$19.00 a month and is a perfect compliment or testimony to the effectiveness of financial education.
    CFA provides training to advisers and students, materials and resources and most importantly online enrollment to automate the process. This can be organized as a chapter project or broadened to the entire school population including teachers, staff and parents. To take advantage of this exciting and simple initiative contact the Consumer Federation of America, George Barany, Director of Financial Education at gbarany@sbcglobal.net or 216.375.3255.

i-SAFE
i-SAFE, a non-profit foundation and worldwide leader in Internet safety education whose mission is to educate and empower students to be safe and responsible on the Internet, has partnered with FBLA-PBL in order for all members to learn safe and responsible online use. FBLA-Middle Level members can get involved in multiple outreach activities such as conducting a community leaders meeting, training others to become i-MENTORS, coordinating assemblies, and so much more. In fact, your FBLA chapter can bridge the gap between students and their community by reaching out with i-SAFE service learning projects. FBLA students can sign up today and become i-MENTORS by going to http://xblock.isafe.org. There you will find online training videos and information to help you get started.

Junior Tours                  

Junior Tours, the leader in student travel, provides quality educational tours at affordable prices. They make it both fun and easy for advisers to sponsor a class or chapter trip. Whether it be a trip to Wall Street in New York City, a trip to Washington, D.C. to take in all of the history or several other places including Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, or Orlando, this program has something to offer every local chapter. Advisers travel for free in a ratio of 1 to 20 paying participants. Explore their NEW Web site at  www.juniortours.com or call 800.631.2241 to start planning a great experience.              

School Store Manual
Do you run a school store or would you like to start one? Through a partnership with the Raymond Geddes Company, FBLA-PBL has developed a school store manual complete with tips, do’s and don’ts, and the necessary forms to make your business venture a success. Download a copy of the School Store Manual.

Service Learning Curriculum
The March of Dimes and FBLA-PBL has teamed up to become involved in the service learning movement that is sweeping the nation. This movement integrates classroom learning with community service, a process that career and technical education has traditionally developed and supported through its local and nationwide community service programs. Student achievement is assessed on related projects as an integral part of the curriculum.
    This service learning curriculum was designed to be cocurricular—implemented within the classroom or in a chapter workshop and extended into the FBLA-PBL chapter.
    This curriculum has five modules:
1) Volunteers: How to Make a Big Impact
2) Marketing Your Event: Maximizing your Mission
3) Selling: Getting Results
4) Public Relations: Getting the Word Out
5) Selling and Organizing Your Event
    Each module is aligned to the National Standards for Business Education and contains goals, a teaching outline, overheads, student reading, tests, portfolio assignments, and individual and group activities. There is a strong emphasis not only on service learning, but also on school-to-work and leadership training. If you would like a printed binder of the materials, it is available for free by contacting communications@fbla.org.

Stock Market Game
Students in The Stock Market Game work in teams to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in stocks and funds to build a virtual investment portfolio. They track and manage their investments over the course of 15 weeks. Students participating in The Stock Market Game are provided with valuable opportunities to practice core skills in math, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Business, Economics, and other subjects in a real world scenario. For details on the game go to the Adviser Section on the national Web site at www.fbla-pbl.org and click on The Stock Market Game.

Game dates are September 2 to December 12, 2008 (registration deadline September 16) and January 12 to April 24, 2009 (registration deadline January 26). While participants will be ranked and winners will be publicized through FBLA-PBL, contest prizes will no longer be awarded.

Visa—Practical Money Skills for Life
PracticalMoneySkills.com, developed by Visa, is a free Web site designed to help educators, parents, and students enhance their money management skills. In a recent Visa survey, 77 percent of parents believed personal money management is “very important” to their children’s lives. To help today’s youth and consumers of all ages become financially savvy, Visa partnered with leading consumer advocates, educators, and financial institutions to launch a national program to improve America’s financial skills—Practical Money Skills for Life. In addition to providing online tools and resources via www.practicalmoneyskills.com, Visa has created free classroom materials that educators can use to teach personal finance. Available online in a binder format, the classroom curriculum is free. It offers a teacher guide, student worksheets, quizzes, and interactive brain-teasers that can be played by students via the Web or from a CD.