Boys & Girls Clubs of America Survey Finds Teens Are Helping Make the Holiday Season Merry and Bright

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Survey Finds Teens Are Helping Make
the Holiday Season Merry and Bright
Money Matters Financial Literacy Program Helps Club Members Handle Money 


ATLANTA, Dec. 14  /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. retailers have good reason to be joyous
this holiday season ... adults are not the only consumers with big plans for
holiday spending.  According to the new "Money Matters Holiday Survey," the
largest percentage of teens plan to spend more than $100 on gifts this year and
have been saving for one to three months to be able to make these purchases.

The survey, conducted by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), includes
insights from more than 1,800 teen members of Clubs nationwide, many of whom
have participated in the Money Matters:  Make It Count program, a joint
initiative of BGCA and The Charles Schwab Foundation launched earlier this year
to promote financial literacy among teens from disadvantaged circumstances. 
And if the findings of the survey are any indication, Money Matters appears to
be working.

  The survey revealed:
   * Twenty-one (21) percent of teens surveyed said they plan to spend more
     than $100 on holiday gifts this year.
   * One-third (32 percent) of teens surveyed said they began saving money
     for gifts one to three months in advance of the holiday season.
   * The largest percentage (31 percent) of respondents said they plan to
     use their allowance to purchase this year's holiday gifts.  Twenty-four
     (24) percent said they will use money they earned through part-time
     jobs.
   * Topping teens' wish list of gifts to receive this year was money - in
     the form of cash or check - followed by cell phones and other portable
     electronics.

  Money Matters Participants Have Better Savings Habits
   * Sixty-four (64) percent of survey respondents who had participated in
     the Money Matters program said they had been saving for a month or more
     to purchase holiday gifts while 49 percent who had not participated in
     Money Matters said they had been for saving for a month or more.
   * Only 12 percent of survey respondents who had participated in Money
     Matters said they had not saved any money for gifts.  Twenty-four (24)
     percent who had not participated in the program said they had not saved
     money.
   * Sixteen (16) percent of teens who had participated in Money Matters
     said they were not sure how much they were planning to spend on holiday
     gifts compared to the 23 percent of teens who had not participated in
     Money Matters who stated they were not sure what they were spending.



"It is heart-warming to know that our Club members are thinking of others this
holiday season and have already begun thinking about how they are going to
purchase gifts for those special people in their lives," said Judith J.
Pickens, senior vice president of program services at BGCA.  "Through programs
like Money Matters, Boys & Girls Clubs are able to help our teen members learn
how to save money, develop a budget and spend wisely, enabling them to purchase
holiday gifts, but also helping them to prepare for other important expenses,
such as their college education."

Through fun, interactive activities and exercises on topics like using a
checking account, managing debt, saving for college and the basics of
investing, Money Matters helps teens ages 13 to 18 learn practical ways to
save, spend and invest the money they earn.

The program, which is available to all Boys & Girls Clubs, helps members
enhance their financial skills through a variety of components, including a
Teen Personal Finance Guide, Facilitator's Guide and the Money Matters Web site
-- a secure site for teens.  Money Matters also features the Schwab Employee
Volunteer Program, which allows Schwab employees to share their financial
expertise with teenage Club members and their families.

More than 36,000 teens are expected to complete the program over the course of
the next two years.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Boys & Girls Clubs of America ( http://www.bgca.org/ ) comprises a national
network of some 3,400 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving more than
4 million young people, primarily from disadvantaged circumstances.  Known as
"The Positive Place for Kids," the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character
development programs on a daily basis for children and teens, 6-18 years old,
conducted by a full-time professional staff.  Key Boys & Girls Club programs
emphasize character and leadership development, education and career
development, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation.

About the Charles Schwab Foundation

A division of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCH), the Charles Schwab
Foundation is committed to giving back to the community by supporting
employee-selected causes and fostering financial literacy through funding,
involvement and expertise.

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCH) (NASDAQ:SCH), through its operating
subsidiaries, provides securities brokerage and financial services to
individual investors and the independent investment advisors who work with
them. With over 7 million individual investor accounts and more than$1 trillion
in client assets, The Charles Schwab Corporation is one of the nation's largest
financial services firms. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member
SIPC) provides a complete range of services and products, including an
extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice;
retirement plans; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and
custodial, operational and trading support for independent fee-based investment
advisors. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC) provides banking and
mortgage services and products. The corporation's other operating subsidiaries
include U.S. Trust Corporation (member FDIC) and CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member
SIPC)., These companies' Web sites can be reached at http://www.schwab.com/ ,
http://www.schwabbank.com/ , http://www.ustrust.com/ , and
http://www.cybertrader.com/ , respectively.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America's "Money Matters Holiday Survey" was conducted
online from Nov. 22 to Dec. 3, 2004, and was completed by 1,803 Boys & Girls
Club members ages 13-18. 

DATASOURCE: Boys & Girls Clubs of America



CONTACT:  Lindsey Edmondson of Boys & Girls Clubs of America,+1-404-487-

5868, or  ; or Stephanie Kannel of Patrice Tanaka &

Company, Inc., [phone], ext. 281, or  



Web site:  http://www.bgca.org/

http://www.schwab.com/,

http://www.schwabbank.com/

http://www.ustrust.com/

http://www.cybertrader.com/ 

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