David Y. Ige

HONOLULU – The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Office of the Securities Commissioner announces the start of the 2015-2016 LifeSmarts Hawaii Competition.  LifeSmarts is a fun, free, national educational program, which teaches youth critical life skills in five areas covering Personal Finance, Consumer Rights & Responsibilities, Health & Safety, Environment, and Technology through online quizzes and in-person competitions.

High school teams are invited to sign up now. Teams must consist of a minimum of four students and one adult coach. LifeSmarts Hawaii begins at the local level with an online competition, found at www.lifesmarts.org, which will be open from Oct. 26, 2015, to Dec. 4, 2015 (7 p.m. HST). The four highest scoring teams will be invited to compete at the state championship competition in Honolulu on Feb. 20, 2016. The winning team will represent Hawaii at the national LifeSmarts competition, scheduled for April 9-12, 2016, in Denver.

“We are excited to sponsor another year of the LifeSmarts Hawaii program and we encourage teachers and youths statewide to sign up a team or teams to gain or strengthen their life skills,” said Securities Commissioner Ty Nohara.

Middle school or “Junior Varsity” (JV) teams with students in grades 6-8 may participate in an online-only competition from September 2015 to February 2016. Winners of the JV competition will be recognized online.

For more information about the LifeSmarts Hawaii program, including up-to-date consumer educational resources for coaches, please visit www.lifesmartshawaii.com. For team registration, please visit lifesmarts.org or contact the LifeSmarts State Coordinator, Theresa Kong Kee, at 587-7400 or [email protected].

The LifeSmarts Hawaii program is sponsored by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Office of the Securities Commissioner, in partnership with the Hawaii Credit Union League, and is run by the National Consumers League. Over 850 local students have participated in LifeSmarts in the past 11 years that DCCA has sponsored the competition. Local businesses interested in becoming a sponsor of the LifeSmarts Hawaii program are welcome to contact the State Coordinator for more information.

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Media Contact:

Theresa Kong Kee
Investor Education Specialist
Office of the Securities Commissioner
State of Hawaii – DCCA
Phone: (808) 587-7400

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Shelly Kunishige

Multimedia Education Specialist

Hawaii Insurance Division

Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs

Email: [email protected]

Office: (808) 587-6735