For immediate release
Freddie Mac's CreditSmart®Español Workshops offered
at six additional HACU member colleges and universities
MIAMI, Florida -- Freddie Mac and the Hispanic Association
of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Monday announced that an additional six
HACU institutions will offer CreditSmart® Español, a national consumer
credit education initiative to help prepare the country's fast-growing Hispanic
communities for the financial responsibilities of higher education and homeownership.
The CreditSmart Espanol workshops at the HACU institutions will be available
to students, their families and members of the local community. The free workshops
will teach consumer credit and money management skills, with an emphasis on
preparing consumers for the financial responsibilities of homeownership, paying
for college and achieving other financial goals.
A total of 15 HACU member institutions offer the CreditSmart® Español curriculum. The six new institutions are Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL; College of the Desert, Palm Desert, CA; University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, Mayaguez, PR; Community College of Denver, Denver, CO; New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM; and Boricua College, New York, NY.
"As the nation's leading voice for Hispanic higher education, HACU is delighted with the growth of this much-needed initiative to offer financial skills to our Hispanic students and their families," said Antonio Flores, President and CEO of HACU.
"Thanks to the foresight and leadership of Freddie Mac and the commitment of our member colleges and universities, our students have access to valuable information that can lead to a more financially secure future,” Flores said.
"Financial literacy is one of the keys to success in life," said Christina Diaz-Malone, Director of National Initiatives, Industry Relations and Housing Outreach for Freddie Mac. "We are proud of our growing relationship with HACU and that we are helping to narrow the homeownership gap for Hispanic families. More than 600 students have taken the workshops at HACU universities in the last two years."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, while 68 percent of the nation's families own their own homes, less than 48 percent of the nation's Hispanic families are homeowners. Studies have shown that barriers to Hispanic homeownership include lack of credit, language and cultural barriers, and lack of information about the home buying process.
CreditSmart Español addresses those barriers. The CreditSmart Español bilingual curriculum is designed to help increase consumers' financial literacy by providing life-long money management skills. It provides important information about credit and credit management, and insight into how lenders assess credit histories and how credit plays a profound role in achieving one's financial goals, like renting an apartment, buying a car or home, or getting a job.
The other HACU institutions that offer the CreditSmart Español curriculum are Miami Dade College, Miami, FL; The University of the Sacred Heart, San Juan, PR; Eugenie Maria de Hostos Community College, Bronx, NY; St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX; California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA; Lehman College, Bronx, NY: Pima Community College, Desert Vista Campus, Tucson, AZ; South Texas Community College, McAllen, TX; and El Camino District College, Torrance, CA.
HACU represents more than 390 colleges and universities, which together serve the largest concentrations of Hispanic higher education students in the United States.
Freddie Mac's trademarked bilingual financial literacy curriculum CreditSmart® Español, and its English language equivalent CreditSmart® have helped more than 25,000 families across the nation learn how to prepare and achieve homeownership and greater financial strength.
The curriculum is usually taught in an eight- to ten-hour workshop that trained instructors can tailor to meet the needs of the participants. For instance, young people in college or just out of college have different concerns than older people. The bilingual curriculum also makes it easy for instructors to teach workshops with diverse Hispanic groups, including persons with limited or no English proficiency and new immigrants.
The workshop materials include lessons for unbanked consumers on the importance of establishing a relationship with a banking institution, information on credit and homeownership, and text in both Spanish and English. In addition to scheduled workshops, consumers can access CreditSmart Español on-line at www.freddiemac.com/creditsmartespanol.
Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac purchases single-family and multifamily residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage pass-through securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made homes possible for one in six homebuyers and more than two million renters across America. For additional information about Freddie Mac, visit www.freddiemac.com.
HACU, a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c) (3) organization, is a national leader in Hispanic outreach, advocacy and higher education initiatives, including scholarship and internship programs, lifelong learning and workforce development initiatives. For more information, visit www.hacu.net.