| LIFE-NET NEWS |
| by Ret Z. |
| Covering Poverty Widely in a Net of Many Voices |
| December 23, 2009 | No Profit; No Proceeds |
| Volume 13 Number 11 | All-Volunteer |
| "Give a family a fish, and they'll eat a meal; give them a Net, and they'll have fish for Life." |
| Reading Program Shows Big Gains in Camden Debut |
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CAMDEN, NJ About 8,000 kindergarten though eighth graders have made leaps in their literacy comprehension through the 100 Book Challenge reading program in just a few months, officials said. Since September, the students have made so much progress that the firm behind the program, the Pennsylvania-based American Reading Company (ARC), last week debuted Camden as a model for other districts.
Representatives from school districts as far as Boston, New York City, and Baltimore came to witness the program's progress at US Wiggins Elementary School. More than 1,600 schools in 40 states use some form of the program, said ARC CEO Jane Hileman. "In the first 100 days, they're showing tremendous progress," said Francine Rosenthal, also of ARC. "We might see (a jump of) several grade levels by the end of the year." US Wiggins teacher Emily Vosseller, who has been teaching elementary education for 19 years said the Challenge is the best literacy program she's ever used, characterizing it as a "balanced literacy diet." "It really jump-starts the reading. We have an at-risk population, but a resilient population," she said. "This program helps children catch up with high-reading families." The program requires students to read in four, 15-minute blocks of time throughout the day. Each classroom is equipped with hundreds of books on multiple comprehension levels marked by color-coded stickers. Teachers tell their students which color to choose so they are challenged enough to enjoy reading, instead of resisting it. Parents and guardians are also required to monitor reading at home. While elements of the program were in some schools prior to September, the $2.4 million expansion was fully implemented to include professional development and an intensive data component which allows teachers and administrators to track students' progress daily. To have so much individual student data is rare in daily teaching, and it's why teachers love it, said Jennifer Ramsden, a fourth grade educator in Philadelphia's B B Comegys School. "We're trying to bring it to every child. It's how kids learn to read. There is a healthy competition between students. ... Teachers own their progress by tracking the steps." Camden's assistant superintendent Andrea Gonzalez-Kirwin, who oversees the program, admitted she was nervous when the company asked to use Camden as the model. But seeing the data about student performance, she said the students are responding. The program was implemented through one-time stimulus money. The district expects future costs to be much lower in the future now that the foundation is in place. Source: Courier-Post |
| Cash-Strapped Charities On Edge |
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CALGARY, ALBERTA The recession may be officially over, but Alberta nonprofits and charities are worried the worst is yet to come. In a provincewide survey conducted by the
Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, 75% of the 472 respondents reported financial stress since September 2008. Although they have adapted so far, the survey suggests many organizations are now stretched to the limit.
"There's this huge sense by many organizations that they are on the edge of a precipice in terms of what they are anticipating to happen next year," said Katherine van Kooy, president and chief executive of the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations. Organizations are reporting declining revenue from various sources. There is also concern that the provincial government could cut its funding to nonprofits and charities between 5% and 15% in the spring budget. Although the Stelmach government recently pledged it would shield Albertans from $2 billion in cuts on the horizon, the organizations are concerned about any cuts to the nonprofit sector. "We haven't seen any word of cutbacks, but nor have we seen any positive indicator that there is going to be any increases," said Carol Oliver, executive director of Distress Center Calgary, which noticed a substantial increase in its call volumes during the recession. "Status quo funding, in a way, is a cut." "The sector is resilient and resourceful," she said. "But in some ways you hit a wall where you can't do any more without cutbacks, without employee layoffs, without program cuts." Some organizations could hit a breaking point. Said van Kooy, "We'll see organizations that will not be able to survive -- at least not in their current forms." Source: Calgary Herald |
| Food Stamp Participation Reaches Record Levels |
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WASHINGTON, DC A record 37.2 million people, or about one out of every eight Americans, received food stamps in September as the recession drove a surging jobless rate, according to a government report. Recipients of the
subsidy for retail-food purchases climbed 18% from a year earlier, according to a statement posted on Dec 8 on the US Department of Agriculture's Web site. Participation has set records for 10 straight months.
The government boosted food aid as unemployment soared, heading to a 26-year high of 10.2% in October. "We've been working to get that money out the door" to families that need assistance, said Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. Nevada had the biggest increase in food-stamp participation rates from a year earlier, surging 54%, followed by a 46.5% jump in Utah, according to the USDA. Texas had the most recipients at 3.1 million, followed by California with 2.9 million, and New York with 2.6 million. Recipients increased in every state and the District of Columbia, except Louisiana. Because of a sharp rise after Hurricanes Ike and Gustav in 2008, the number of people in Louisiana getting food stamps fell 65% in September from a year earlier. Gains of more than 30% from 2008 were reported in 18 states. About 35 million people are expected to receive food stamps each month through what's formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to the budget that President Barack Obama sent to Congress in May. The participation rate of state residents who are eligible for food stamps varies widely, the USDA said last month in a report based on 2007 data. In Missouri, about 100% who were eligible that year took advantage of the program. Wyoming's participation rate of 47% was the lowest. Nationwide, participation in the food stamp program was 66% of those eligible for the aid in 2007, the USDA said. The department has budgeted for a rate of 68% in the current 2010 fiscal year. "We know of a lot of people who are SNAP-eligible who are not participating in the program," Merrigan said. "We are working with states to improve participation." Source: Bloomberg |
| 'Food Sovereignty' the Goal in Barbados |
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BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) has been praised for its contribution to agriculture and has been urged to
step up its efforts to provide wholesome food while helping
Barbados to achieve "food sovereignty". This call came from Minister of Agriculture, Senator Haynesley Benn, as he delivered the feature address on Dec 3 at the organization's opening day celebration.
While noting that he had "high regard and deep respect" for CARDI's work over the years in developing agriculture, Benn, who recently returned from the Food and Agriculture Organization's World Food Summit in Rome, Italy, emphasized the need for local food sovereignty. "The farming community must be in the vanguard of this charge to help this nation to achieve food security. "As a matter of fact, we in this Ministry have adopted a decree called 'food sovereignty'. We have moved past food security," he said. "We want to focus on domestic production to satisfy our local needs and when we are satisfied that we can feed ourselves, we can boast about food sovereignty." He called on CARDI to concentrate efforts on increasing the food production of farmers and on identifying fruits and vegetables that could be grown as cash crops. "Food security can be achieved by importing the foods that you want and once there is adequate food on the table, whether it comes from local or overseas [producers], you are secure. "But food sovereignty is about a country seeking to produce the kind of food that can make a country self-sufficient and Barbados is far from being self-sufficient." Outlining that Barbados imports close to 74% of its food, comprising mostly processed foods, Benn revealed that the country could claim to be self-sufficient in poultry and egg production, as well as in some areas of vegetable production, but the same cannot be stated for beef or lamb supplies. He expressed gratitude to local farmers for responding to the Ministry's call for increased food production and noted that more cassava, sweet potato, yams, and herb crops had been produced. Benn also pledged the Ministry's support for farmers, not only through technical guidance, but also in the acceleration of the Ministry's rebate and incentive program. "We have sought to upgrade the incentives program, but ... we must now look at up-front incentives," said Benn. "Many times, farmers spend monies that they had to borrow and then wait for a while to get back some funds through the incentives program." Source: Barbados Government Information Service |
| Philadelphia Marks Homeless Memorial Day |
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PHILADELPHIA, PA His name remains unknown. But six months after police killed a 60-year-old homeless man, mourners on Monday laid a wreath at the site where he was killed in the lower concourse of the Municipal Services Building. It was part of a candlelight memorial for the 87 homeless people -- 17 women and 70 men -- who have died in the past year on the streets or in shelters.
Moments before the wreath-laying, about 200 people gathered in the City Hall courtyard to read the name of each victim. Mayor Michael Nutter said to the crowd, "There is no good God-given reason for anyone to suffer without a roof over his head." "Many of us feel a personal loss," said Tony Madwid, who works for nonprofit housing provider Bethesda Project. He held up a sign with the name of a woman he knew, Bonnie Nardini. Madwid said the Bethesda Project had set her up in an apartment and provided her with support for mental illness. But she disappeared and was discovered dead in South Philadelphia's Roosevelt Park on a frigid night this year. Karen Pushaw, who works at the St Francis Inn soup kitchen in Kensington, knew five of the victims. She called them "the invisible homeless" who lived in abandoned houses or doubled up with friends and relatives. All were in their 40s and 50s. "They don't get proper medical care, mainly because their main concern is finding a warm place at night." Philadelphia has about 395 people living on the streets. It also has about 3,000 men, women and children who live in shelters. Yesterday's memorial was one of 127 held across the country -- from Orlando FL to Bethel AK -- as part of Homeless Memorial Day. John Lozier, executive director of the Nashville-based National Health Care for the Homeless Council, a national co-organizer of the events, said holding ceremonies on the longest night of the year was intentional. "It's physically a very difficult time of year" for homeless people, Lozier said. He said that there were no firm national statistics on the number of people who die every year on the streets or in shelters, but said that "it's clearly in the hundreds and hundreds every year." He said the average age of death for people living on the streets or shelters is about 50, compared with about 80 for the general population. In Philadelphia, the severity of life on the streets was driven home during the weekend blizzard. Anticipating cold weather, the city called a "Code Blue" on Dec 16, which gave outreach teams and police the authority to force people inside. Source: Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Millions Pledged to Train Older Workers |
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OTTAWA, CANADA The federal and Ontario governments will spend $58.5 million to help retrain older workers who have lost their jobs. Human Resources Minister Diane
Finley said on Dec 15, "When Canadians, including older workers, lose their jobs, we want to help them get back into the workforce as soon as possible."
Workers who lose their job after 20 or 30 years need skills on how to look for a job, how to write a resume, and how to do an interview, Finley said. Others need computer skills, or they need training in new trades. Finley and Ontario Minister of Training John Milloy announced the feds would kick in $49.1 million and the province $9.4 million over three years to provide 5,000 older workers with income support and skills training. The Conservative government's 'Targeted Initiative for Older Workers' applies to Canadians aged 55 to 64 who live in "vulnerable communities" -- areas with significant downsizing or plant closures. Ontario was one of the last provinces to sign up. Milloy's spokeswoman Annette Phillips said Ontario took more time to negotiate a better deal. Initially, the federal program only targeted older workers in areas with a population of less than 250,000. "Most Ontario communities would have been excluded." Source: Toronto Sun |
| State Reps' 2nd Clothing Drive for Seniors, Homeless |
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DOVER, DE With winter's cold steadily gaining ground in Delaware, a group of state representatives helped make the season more bearable for those less fortunate in their communities. For the second year in a row, Dover Reps Brad Bennett and Darryl Scott, Smyrna Rep Bill Carson, and Middletown Rep Quinn Johnson collected coats, sweaters, and warm clothes for central Delaware senior centers and homeless shelters.
Throughout the months of October and November, the Democratic representatives asked their constituents to donate new and slightly worn items at businesses in their districts. On Dec 16, they delivered the clothes to several locations, including the Interfaith Mission for Housing and The Shepherd Place homeless shelters in Dover. "It's citizens helping citizens," Carson said. Interfaith program manager Erich Gillespie said, "It's a great thing. We'll be able to give the guys sweaters and warm jackets so they can look presentable for job interviews and when they go out into the community." The Interfaith shelter on Forrest Avenue in Dover houses homeless men and provides them opportunities to kick drug and alcohol habits or just to turn their lives around. Often, Gillespie said, his residents end up at the shelter after losing their homes or being forced onto the street. "They're coming in hard times, and a lot of times they come with just the clothes on their backs." The representatives brought a box full of men's items to Gillespie's shelter and dropped off dozens of clothes for women and children to The Shepherd Place. Bennett said initiatives like the clothing drive are a key part of his job description. "One of the most important things we can do as state reps is to help people in our community," he said. "That's the reason I wanted to become a state rep." But the credit all goes to the community, Scott said. "Our constituents, this is the second year they've come through for us. It's amazing when you think how tough the economic times are." Source: Dover Post |
| Yoga Classes Help War-Traumatized Recover |
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NEW YORK, NY A group of Rwandan women enjoy a night of unbroken sleep for the first time in 15 years. They see their depression and physical pains fade after having taken part in yoga classes.
"Yoga gives these women back the sense that they still have untapped reserves of life and health and youth in them -- that they are not old and maimed and sick at all, but still very much alive," says Deirdre Summerbell, a yoga teacher and founder of the organization Project Air. Since its launch in 2007, thousands of women who were raped during the genocide in 1994, many of whom were consequently infected by HIV/AIDS, have been reached with yoga classes given by Project Air. In partnership with local gynecologic health centers that perform fistula operations for survivors of rape, the organization is now planning to expand into the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman or girl. With the formal endorsement by the United Nations -- the first ever given to a yoga initiative -- Summerbell is thinking of expanding into other areas as well, such as Burundi, Somalia, and Sierra Leone. Project Air has received suggestions from the UN to go into Gaza, Afghanistan, Guatemala, and Colombia. "Having spent part of my youth in Tanzania, I saw many ideas from the West come and go in the region," she said in New York. "Yet as well-meaning as some of those ideas were, they were often also naïve or worse, something I was afraid this yoga experiment would turn out to be, too." The experiment proved to be successful. As a result, it became the first time yoga was included as a programmed mental health service of a medical NGO in Africa. Source: Inter Press Service |
| One Medicaid Quit-Smoking Program Wows Researchers |
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BOSTON, MA When Massachusetts began offering virtually free treatments to help poor residents of the state stop smoking in 2006, proponents hoped the new Medicaid program would someday reap benefits. But state officials never
expected it would happen so soon.
New state data show a steep drop in the smoking rate among poor people. When the program started, about 38% of poor Massachusetts residents smoked. By 2008, the smoking rate for poor residents had dropped to about 28%, a decrease of about 30,000 people in two and a half years, or one in six smokers, said Lois Keithly, director of the state's Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program. There are also indications that the drop has lowered rates of hospitalization for heart attacks and emergency room visits for asthma attacks, she said. The data has not yet been peer-reviewed. But the numbers have already grabbed national attention. The MA program, part of the state's landmark universal health care law, covers almost the entire cost of counseling and prescription drugs for Medicaid enrollees trying to quit smoking. Most states do not provide nearly as much help for poor smokers. The rate of smoking among Medicaid patients had not changed in a decade before the program was introduced. It was much higher than the rate in the general population, which stands at about 18%. Under the program, Medicaid recipients from age 18 to 64 are eligible for 180 days of antismoking drugs, including Chantix and bupropion, and 16 counseling sessions per year. Co-payments do not exceed $3, said Keithly. She said the state spent $11 million on the program in its first two years. Insurance plans for higher-income residents provide less coverage for smoking-cessation treatment, she said, or none at all. "This is really the gold standard." Dr Michael Siegel, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, said the main finding -- a significant drop in the smoking rate of Medicaid recipients -- was "very compelling." State researchers also looked at the smoking rate for uninsured residents, who also tend to be poor, over the same period and found it did not change. "That's something you need to see," said Siegel, "because if they had just found that the rate among Medicaid recipients dropped, it might be coincidental or dropping among everyone." According to the American Lung Association, MA is among only six states that offer extensive stop-smoking benefits for Medicaid recipients. The others are Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. MA is the only one of those states that has reported a significant drop in the smoking rate for Medicaid patients. Terry F Pechacek, associate director for science for the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, said he had reviewed the MA data and found the numbers "shocking" given that smoking rates around the nation have barely budged since 2004. Source: New York Times |
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| Satellite Mapping Helps Tribe Fight Encroachments |
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MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA When Chief Almir first accessed Google Earth, he did what many others do and scrolled over the map to find his home. His home, however, happens to be a nominally protected swath of forest in the rapidly diminishing Amazonian rainforest. After seeing the tenuous state of his people's historic lands from on high, Almir, who leads the Surui tribe in western Brazil, enlisted the help of the search engine giant to raise awareness about the nearby illegal logging and mining that threatens his group's way of life.
Using a technology-rich form of ethnographic mapping, a philanthropic side of Google Earth Outreach (GEO) embarked on a collaboration with Almir and the nonprofit Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) to keep tabs on nearby clear-cutting while recording aspects of the tribe's land and daily life in hopes of drawing attention to their struggle. "We want to show concretely, practically that you can have a quality of life and economic development in an intact forest," Almir told the San Francisco Chronicle through an interpreter. Aside from assaults on their land, the tribe has faced direct violence from loggers and miners. Almir himself has been seeking shelter in the US from a reported $100,000 bounty out for him. The new Google Earth content includes images and video about the tribe's daily life, which depends largely on the preservation of the 6,000-acre reserve on which they live. "It shows how they use the land, their history on the land, the stories related to each point," said Vasco van Roosmalen, the Brazil director for ACT. GEO, which has helped other nonprofits map everything from climate change effects to the crisis in Darfur, saw the proposal from Almir as a chance to match on-the-ground multimedia content with detailed satellite information. "He seemed to have a very clear sense of the appropriate use of technology for indigenous people to help them bridge that gap from their traditional ways to engaging with the modern world," said GEO head Rebecca Moore. In 1969, when the Surui first came into contact with Brazilian authorities, there were about 5,000 in the tribe. Today the number has reached about 1,300, up from a low of 250 after massacres and illnesses had taken an immense toll. Google is now in talks with other tribes around the world to try to develop similar content. "We see this as a model," said Moore. "I sometimes think people are more aware of polar bears under threat than entire tribes." Source: Scientific American |
| South Jersey Youth Group Unusually Helpful |
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WENONAH, NJ A group of motivated teenagers has managed to raise nearly $3,000 for hungry children in Latin America, donate more than 200 canned goods to the Pitman Pantry, raise $350 for donations through a car wash, clean up 92 pounds of trash in a Deptford park, purchase Christmas gifts for 10 children under the care of DYFS, and collect enough toiletries to make 250 bags for an adolescent shelter in Blackwood. That was just in the last year.
These 20 young people are members of Wenonah's Memorial Presbyterian Church Youth Group (YG). They devote much of their time and efforts to helping those in their congregation and community. "In February we held a 30-hour 'famine' in which we got people to sponsor us to go 30 hours without food, and we were then able to donate all that money through World Vision to help improve the lives of hungry children in a poor area," said Phil Vassallo, 17, of Mantua Township. "It only costs one dollar a day to feed a child, and this activity allowed us to show that we know what's going on in the world around us and are trying to bring awareness to the struggles these people face." Sixteen participants in the famine in February raised $2,963, which was enough to feed eight children for one year. The YG plans to hold another one in April 2010. In March and April, the members donated canned goods and nonperishable foods to the pantry and assisted the Sunday school with Easter activities. In May, they held a car wash and donated all of their proceeds. Ryan Dongarra, 14, of Wenonah said, "That money goes toward whatever the church needs. ... We'll hold another one in May of next year." In September, the YG walked in the annual Bradley's Buddies Walk, which kicked off the year for new members. In October, the YG spent four hours beautifying a local park. In November, the members were able to take the $1,006 they raised through Gertrude Hawk candy sales and other YG fundraisers to purchase holiday gifts at Target for 10 children. "We bought gifts from each child's wish list and were able to spend $100 per kid," said Rebecca Mauro, 12, of Woodbury. "A lot of these kids wouldn't normally have a Christmas, so it was great to think we could put a smile on their faces." The teens also participate in the Rent-a-Youth program, in which members of the church and community can "rent" a YG member to come to their house to do work like babysitting, raking leaves, or cleaning. Whatever profit the YG is given goes toward donations and group activities. For December's project, the YG collected toiletries from the church and community that would be packaged up and delivered to the Youth Empowerment System shelter in Blackwood. "It feels good to reach out to people," said Katie Black, 16, of Wenonah, "and I feel like you start a chain reaction, if you help someone they'll help someone else and so on." Source: Gloucester County Times |
| Prince William 'Sleeps Rough' |
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LONDON, ENGLAND Instead of being king for a day, Prince William became homeless for a night. The English heartthrob, now 27, announced that he became a man of the people when he spent a freezing December night under a bridge in a Central London alley in hopes of bringing awareness to the plight of the city's homeless teens. "I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets."
The prince is currently training to be a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue pilot. He was snapped that night looking like an everyman clad in jeans, a gray sweatshirt, and a knit hat. Following in the footsteps of his charitable mother Princess Diana, William said that the experience, coordinated by UK charity Centrepoint, taught him how tough it is to "sleep rough," the slang homeless UK teens use to describe their lifestyle. "I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London's streets night after night. Poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependency, and family breakdown cause people to become, and then stay, homeless." Source: Radar Online |
| Rally Spotlights 'Epidemic of Wage Theft' |
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Adapted from a piece by Teresa Molina:
The morning was cool and sharp, as I, a migrant worker, mother and reportera for Voces de Inmigrantes en Resistencia at POOR Magazine stood with hundreds of migrant workers at San Francisco City Hall earlier this month in solidarity with workers all across the nation struggling for justice, struggling to be paid for our work, fighting the epidemic of wage theft. We were all excited that our voices would be heard, and that thousands of employers who have not paid their poor workers, some since as far back as 2006, would be brought forth today. These employers have fueled the epidemic of wage theft. Hilary Ronen, from La Raza Centro Legal, said that this action and protest took place because "wage theft has become an epidemic!" There were many powerful community organizations present such as La Colectiva de Mujeres, La Raza Centro Legal, POWER, MUA, Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Chinese Progressive Movement, Filipinos Community Center, Young Workers United, and POOR Magazine. Many of the unjust employers have not paid wages, or they pay them whatever they want. It is not fair, because these criminal employers make the workers work overtime, then they don't recognize the hours or they don't give the workers any days off; and the abuses continue without a stop. These abusive employers continue to exploit the worker. This is not a problem that only affects domestic workers or day laborers, but it also extends to hotel workers, nannies, and restaurant workers. This is why we are here, to demand the government in order to seek justice. Arrest the employers who do not pay their workers. "Ya Basta! Enough!" We are not being respected, and these employers are not abiding with the law. We are the ones that do the heaviest and dirtiest jobs. All of us present, in one way or another expressed the abuse we have endured from our employers. One of these people is Julio Loyola, a day laborer from the Day Laborer Program, who expressed his feelings about the abuse that many day laborers face, "that they put them to work exposing them to dangerous chemicals and they make them work without any protective equipment, and they still steal their salary." After asking Hilary Ronen, a lawyer from La Raza Centro Legal, "What are your hopes in having this protest?" she responded, "I hope that the City gets involved with more resources and make the employers abide by the labor laws of San Francisco. It is law that all workers get paid for their work independent of their immigration status." Here at POOR Magazine we are tired of such injustice. It is the reason we are out here resisting. If we do not resist we will not be heard, because no one else is going to fight our struggles. With unity we will always win! Alone we cannot win. "Community Unite and Join the Struggle!" Source: Poor Magazine |
| Toys that Help Kids Learn to Spend Responsibly |
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USA Money toys give children opportunities to experiment with play money before they get the real stuff in their pockets.
The New Jersey Bankers Association has some suggestions for playthings that can promote good money habits. It's never too early to promote healthy spending habits and give the gift of financial literacy:
Kids love gadgets, and electronic piggy banks let children watch their money grow as the bank keeps count of coins deposited. After the bank is filled, take your child to the bank and show how to fill out a deposit slip and put the money in a savings account. Don't forget to "reward" your child by letting them spend a reasonable amount just for fun. Play cash registers bring "playing store" to life with interactive cash management. Transactions are rewarded with lights, sounds, and voice messages. Some include a built-in scanner, scale, and coin slot. This toy helps kids count and learn about the denominations of money and how to make change as well. Money board games that incorporate concepts of earning, spending, planning ahead, and even the value in real estate are fun but also teach basic money skills that kids will use for the rest of their lives. Let your child be the banker and they'll learn even more about the responsibility of having money. A pretend ATM works just like a real ATM, complete with an electronic bill feeder and mechanisms to recognize coins. It also allow youngsters to enter a secret PIN. A fun introduction to money, it helps children learn as they save. "Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock" by Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the FDIC, is a story of twin boys who, given an opportunity to make extra money, notice the difference in their money personalities. "Arthur's Funny Money" by Lillian Hoben details Arthur's attempt to earn money to make a special purchase. And while you're at it, buy yourself something to help your children become financially secure. Neal S Godfrey has written two books that can surely help: Money Doesn't Grow on Trees: A Parent's Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Children and Money Still Doesn't Grow on Trees: A Parent's Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Teens and Young Adults. Source: Courier-Post |
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