Financial firm helping students get to college.Back in 2002, officials in the local office of Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER TYO: 8675 ), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides capital markets services, investment banking and advisory services, wealth management, asset management, insurance, banking and related products and services on a global basis. were mulling mulling (mul´ing), n the final step of mixing dental amalgam; a kneading of the triturated mass to complete the amalgamation. over what they could do to give to back the community. "We decided as a company thai financial literacy Financial literacy is the ability of individuals to make appropriate decisions in managing their personal finances. Raising levels of financial literacy is now a focus of government programmes in countries including[1] Australia, Japan, the United States and the UK. and education should be the cornerstone," said Brian Riley, director of regional offices for MerRill Lynch. "As much as we gain from the community, we feel a responsibility." They decided to target California, where the company has been a major player in the financial management industry locally for years. It made sense to give back some support, Riley said. "We looked for opportunities where we do a tremendous amount of business," he said. "We felt this was a good place to give back to the community where we live and work." After a competitive grant review process, Merrill Lynch eventually decided to partner with Project Graduation Really Achieves Dreams Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , the North Hollywood branch of a national education program founded in Houston in 1993. So far, the company has given $3 million to the program, which provides youngsters and their families in lower-income areas of the northeastern Valley the tools to help students go to college. It's done through programs at 15 area schools for various ages, each focusing on different aspects of economics--boosting math and reading skills for youngsters; increasing management, algorithm skills and exploring careers for older students. Merrill Lynch also runs the "Investing Pays Off" finance summit and works hand-in-hand with project coordinators to create specific programs on financial planning Financial planning Evaluating the investing and financing options available to a firm. Planning includes attempting to make optimal decisions, projecting the consequences of these decisions for the firm in the form of a financial plan, and then comparing future performance against and budgeting. The company also provides scholarships and runs a two-day finance workshop for students and families. "That's all part of the curriculum so that we can help people do a better job planning for the future," he said. The overarching o·ver·arch·ing adj. 1. Forming an arch overhead or above: overarching branches. 2. Extending over or throughout: "I am not sure whether the missing ingredient . . . goal, Riley said, is to help the community by helping students get ahead. By CHRIS COATES COATES Community Opportunities Accountability and Training and Educational Services (US Department of Health and Human Services) Staff Reporter |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion