UH Manoa CTAHR Money Management Website Recognized

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Pamela Kutara, (808) 956-7138
CTAHR Cooperative Extension Office
Arlene Abiang, (808) 956-5637
External Affairs & University Relations
Posted: Oct 4, 2004

HONOLULU — MoneyEd, developed by UH Mānoa faculty members Pamela Kutara, Lynn Nakamura-Tengan, Claire Nakatsuka and Ronaele Whittington in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), was awarded the 2004 Dean Don Felker Financial Management Award from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Services (NEAFCS) for the Western region. The award recognizes the development of outstanding financial management programs which help individuals and families make decisions for their present and future needs.

To address today‘s time-challenged families, Kutara, Nakamura-Tengan, Nakatsuka and Whittington created MoneyEd, a statewide educational project of the UH Cooperative Extension Service that officially launched in 2002. The Web site is a free service designed to help users develop valuable money management skills. To date, nearly 220 people have completed the course as instructed by the Web site directions provided, and a cumulative impact of $36,409 has been reported due to increased savings, reduced debt and decrease spending.

In the classroom, MoneyEd has been used as a required component in an undergraduate course in CTAHR‘S Department of Family & Consumer Sciences to introduce students to lessons in money management.

"As educators working with our communities, we're excited to be on the forefront of delivering an innovative program to help not only our students, but also Hawaii‘s people," said Lynn Nakamura-Tengan, CTAHR extension educator.

Interested participants can register for the online service at www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/moneyed. Eleven user-friendly articles with 12 accompanying worksheets and links to other valuable resources are available. Upon receipt of the participant‘s evaluation survey, those who complete at least six of the 11 articles and worksheets will receive a Certificate of Participation.

The National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences is a national organization with nearly 2800 active and affiliate members of Family & Consumer Science Extension across the nation and its territories. NEAFCS members link research to life experiences by interpreting research and delivering that message to families. Extension Family & Consumer Science educators help people develop the skills necessary to care for family members, promote growth and development, and meet individual and family needs for requirements essential to health and safety. For more information, visit www.neafcs.org.