Champs to Travel to Los Angeles to Compete in National Event
Southfield, MI – March 25, 2011— Fenton High School captured the Michigan State LifeSmarts Championship by successfully fielding questions about real‐life marketplace issues at Oakland University on Friday, March 25, 2011. LifeSmarts, a consumer education competition that challenges teens in grades 9‐12 with questions about personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology, and consumer rights and responsibilities, is a program of the National Consumers League.
In Michigan, the LifeSmarts program is sponsored by Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan (BBB). Through the efforts of Crystal Kontos of the BBB and the Michigan’s LifeSmarts state coordinator, teens from across Michigan, first competed online for a chance to go to the in‐person state finals held March 25th. Fenton High School’s 5 man team earned the opportunity to attend the national LifeSmarts competition to be held in Los Angeles, CA April 30 – May 4, 2011.
“LifeSmarts participants in Michigan have gained many of the consumer ‘smarts’ they’ll need to make it in the real world,” said Ms. Kontos. “Their dedication to learning to be “life smart” has earned them a wonderful opportunity to meet other high school students from across the country and test their knowledge. We’re proud to have Fenton High School represent us at the 2011 National LifeSmarts Championship in Los Angeles. ”
Other teams that participated in the competition this year included: Freeland High School and Iron Mountain High School.
“LifeSmarts participants win by learning to avoid common consumer pitfalls, navigate the government, and understand credit card jargon before they have to sign on the dotted line,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League.
Follow Team Fenton in Hollywood on:
About LifeSmarts
LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators implement the program locally. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202‐835‐3323. The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. NCL’s mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information about NCL, visit www.nclnet.org or email media@nclnet.org.
About Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan is a non-profit organization with the purpose of assisting in the protection of consumers and businesses from fraud and unethical business practices in the local marketplace. In addition to its recognized dispute resolution services, BBB maintains reliability reports on the customer service history of more than 80,000 local businesses and provides consumer education materials on numerous topics. BBB provides its services free to the public and its service territory stretches across Eastern Michigan from Jackson/Ann Arbor through Metropolitan Detroit, Lansing, Flint, upward to Alpena, and covers the entire Upper Peninsula of the state. For more information, visit www.easternmichiganbbb.org.