Pay Your Family

ASU Gets in the Game as Innovative Financial Literacy Program Doubles in Size

ASU to Provide Matching Scholarship Dollars to Winners

Paradise Valley/Phoenix, AZ – Pay Your Family First (PYFF), in partnership with Choices Educational Empowerment, will hold the second annual ThriveTime Challenge’s state championship at Arizona State University West Campus in Phoenix on April 20th from  – 1-6 p.m.

The event will be held at ASU’s brand new Sun Devil Fitness Complex with appearances by local celebrities and guests.  The event includes a community fair with entertainment, games -prize drawings and scholarships will be awarded to winners.

During the championship, participants will compete in a three round, single elimination tournament of the board game created by PYFF and international financial literacy expert Sharon Lechter, ThriveTime for Teens.  The board game was developed as a teaching tool to instill money management skills to youth and families. Students will play at tables in small groups. The first player to “Thrive,” or win, at each table will advance to the second round; then, those winners will proceed to the final championship round.

The 1^st place winner will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the ThriveTime Challenge program with second and third place each receiving $2,500.  As the tournament sponsor, ASU will be matching all three scholarships as well.

According to Lechter, everyone who attends is a winner.  Many participating high school from qualifying events received cash prizes; the students who win scholarships at the state tournament will also win $1,000 donations for their schools.

“We are excited to be hosting the ThriveTime Challenge at our ASU West campus this year,” said Beatriz Rendon, Associate Vice President, Education Outreach and Student Services, Arizona State University. “Teaching students about financial literacy through this competition is a great way for students to learn money management skills and important college savings’ strategies.”

PYFF’s CEO and acclaimed author, Sharon Lechter, is on a mission to promote financial education.

“Now in our second year, the growth of the ThriveTime Challenge has been incredible.   We set out to create community collaboration between the corporate, personal and private sectors to address a pressing need for financial literacy education for children.  Business and community leaders as well as educators have stepped up to the plate to support financial education for Arizona teens.”

Choices Educational Empowerment’s Tank Jones, acclaimed actor and activist, has seen the benefits of the game.

“Collaborating with Pay Your Family First to bring the ThriveTime Challenge to local schools has been fun and rewarding. We’ve met some exceptional kids and great staff.  I look forward to seeing who’s going to take the scholarship!”

Arizona State Treasurer, Doug Ducey applauds this initiative and for the second year in a row is expected to attend the State Tournament in April 2013.  “The ThriveTime Challenge is a fun and educational way to equip students to make more informed decisions about their personal finances,” added Ducey. “Starting early is key; a little bit of knowledge can go a long way to protecting your financial future”

Arizona high schools interested in hosting a ThriveTime Scholarship Challenge, or organizations interested in empowering the next generation of superstars by sponsoring the events, should contact Angela Totman at Pay Your Family First: angela@pyff.net.

For information regarding the ThriveTime Scholarship Challenge, please visit: www.thrivetimechallenge.com.