WB News Release: [Oct. 15, 2007]
Contact Name: Jeannine Lupton
Phone Number: 206-553-7620

U.S. Labor Dept.’s Women’s Bureau will bring financial education to Native American women in Warm Springs, Ore., on October 30

SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau is sponsoring a workshop, “Moving Beyond Survival to Financial Stability,” to be held Tuesday, October 30, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. PDT at the Warm Springs Community Center on Hollywood Boulevard in Warm Springs, Ore. Topics to be covered include: credit in a money world; identification theft prevention; sound savings; and home ownership as a tool for financial success.

The free financial skill-building workshop is part of an effort to provide financial education to Native American women. A similar workshop will be held in Bellingham, Wash., on November 1.

The Women’s Bureau is working with Native Public Media, community groups and local employment offices to bring information to Native American women through a series of public service radio announcements and classes designed to increase financial literacy.

“The Women’s Bureau is proud to be a catalyst for this unique collaboration with Native Public Media and Native communities,” said Women’s Bureau Director Shinae Chun. “By funding this project, we hope that more rural Native women will learn about the Wi$e Up financial literacy program, which can provide them with the tools they need to gain control over their finances and save for the future.”

Since the Women’s Bureau launched Wi$e Up in 2004, more than 3,500 women have participated and the program’s Web site has received more than one million hits. Under Chun’s leadership, outreach has been expanded to target the Native American community and others. Toward that end, the bureau has joined forces with local partners including One-Stop Career Centers, community groups and Native Public Media’s network of radio stations.

To help inform more people about the program, Native Public Media has worked with the Women’s Bureau to produce a series of five public service announcements featuring Native American women who participated in a pilot class sharing financial messages. The announcements now air on more than 30 radio stations in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington state, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

To sign up for the Warm Springs workshop, please contact: Julie Quaid at 541-553-3438 or jquiad@wstribes; or Alicia Diefenbach at 206-295-2189 or ach@aliciahaus.com.

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