WASHINGTON, June 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) Foundation, sponsoring CBA member banks from across the country and Ashoka's Youth Venture are pleased to announce the "Banking on Youth" competition finalists.
Banking on Youth invites young people between the ages of 13 and 20 to submit a creative 90-second video and brief entry form to share their idea for an entrepreneurial venture that will directly benefit society. Over 170 business plan proposals were received this year and are available at www.bankingonyouth.org. The six national finalists chosen by the CBA Foundation and Ashoka's Youth Venture are:
- Lauren Behgam, The Food Recovery Network
- Jonny Cohen, GreenSheilds
- Oscar Eclov-Reher, Helping Hands
- Jamelah Issac, The Healthy Neighborhood Store Alliance
- Yoni Kalin, Color My World
- Rigo Santoyo, Youth Speak Media Solutions
These top entrants, chosen by the CBA Foundation and Ashoka's Youth Venture, will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in a "pitch-off" at the annual Youth Venture Summit in Washington, D.C. "Pitch-off" prizes include the Audience Choice Award of $5,000 and the Grand Prize of $15,000!
In addition to the six finalists, 55 regional winners were selected by the program's sponsoring banks: Union Bank (10 prizes), U.S. Bank (6 prizes), Wells Fargo (6 prizes), Bank of America (5 prizes), Citigroup, Inc. (5 prizes), IBERIABANK (4 prizes), M&T Bank (4 prizes), PNC (4 prizes), First Niagara Bank (3 prizes), BB&T (2 prizes), Citizens Financial (2 prizes), Citizens Republic (2 prizes) and SunTrust Bank (2 prizes). Each regional winner will receive $1,000 of seed-money for their venture ideas that will directly benefit society.
"CBA is thrilled to announce the Banking on Youth finalists and their innovative programs which will benefit fellow youth, their schools, disadvantaged communities and the environment," said Richard Hunt, President and CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association. "Banking on Youth is providing a new and exciting channel for banks to engage with tomorrow's leaders, foster their talents and empower them to make their dreams a reality."
"It is clear to see the difference our partner banks can make by seeding the ingenuity and initiative of these young people," said Gretchen Zucker, Executive Director of Ashoka's Youth Venture. "Each of these innovative ventures will touch the lives of hundreds of people, if not thousands, while equipping the youth with the changemaker skills they need for success in school, work and life."
A full listing of the 55 regional winners, along with their videos and the videos of the six finalists is available here. For further information about the competition visit www.bankingonyouth.org. For information about how to become a sponsor contact Megan Murff, Vice President of the CBA Foundation at mmurff@cbanet.org.
About CBA
The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) is the trade association for today's leaders in retail banking - banking services geared toward consumers and small businesses. The nation's largest financial institutions, as well as many regional banks, are CBA corporate members, collectively holding two-thirds of the industry's total assets. CBA's mission is to preserve and promote the retail banking industry as it strives to fulfill the financial needs of the American consumer.
For more information, please contact Deirdre Leahy, 202-552-6371, dleahy@cbanet.org or visit www.cbanet.org.
About Ashoka
Ashoka is the global association of the world's leading social entrepreneurs and the pioneer of the social entrepreneurship movement. Ashoka has a 30-year history of finding and launching the top innovations that address the world's needs. We believe that the greatest contribution we can make to the world is to increase dramatically the number of changemakers today and in every future generation. This is the key factor for success in every part of society, from a school to a company to an entire country. Ashoka operates in 65 countries and online at www.ashoka.org.
About Ashoka's Youth Venture
Youth Venture is an international network of 100,000 changemakers. We inspire and support young people to be changemakers by launching and leading their own civic-minded organizations and businesses, and we help communities around the world realize their potential as communities of changemakers. YV operates in 19 countries and online at www.GenV.net.
Deirdre Leahy
dleahy@cbanet.org
202.552.6371
Consumer Bankers Association
http://www.cbanet.org/
This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com
http://www.cisionwire.com/consumer-bankers-association/r/cba-and-ashoka-announce--banking-on-youth--competition-finalists,c9278930