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Coach Donna Mancuso's team from Crosby High School is headed to Philadelphia to represent the state at the 2012 National LifeSmarts Championship. The event starts this weekend, and you can follow the action online at our event blog and watch the final matches live at lifesmarts.org the morning of Tuesday, 4/24.

Just in time for April’s Financial Literacy Month, the National Consumers League (NCL) has announced the 32 state champion teams that have earned a spot at the 2012 National LifeSmarts Championship, which will take place this year in Philadelphia, PA, April 21 – 24, at the Downtown Sheraton. LifeSmarts (www.lifesmarts.org) is NCL’s 18-year-old program that educates teens and tweens on real-world financial and consumer literacy issues.

LifeSmarts is a competitive educational program, in which teams of students begin online. Top-scorers progress to state competitions, and state champion teams meet each April to compete in the National LifeSmarts Championship. Last year’s state champion from Kansas will return this year to defend their national title. For a complete list of state champions, visit www.lifesmarts.org.

“We are so proud of this year’s state LifeSmarts champions, who have proven themselves to be the best and the brightest of the next generation of consumers,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “LifeSmarts is a fun, fast, and educational program, and a great vehicle for educating young consumers. Our program goes in-depth on the issues kids—and adults—are facing now: making smart choices with financial resources, health care, environmental concerns, and how technology affects our lives.
 

The 2012 National LifeSmarts Champion and other winning teams will walk away with prizes including scholarships and valuable prizes. In addition to placing as a team, individual students have the opportunity to compete for scholarships for demonstrating knowledge in specific program topic areas. The top eight placing teams and top five individuals are recognized. NCL thanks the sponsors who make our program possible, including Visa, Western Union, American Century, Investments Foundation, Google, CBM Credit Education Foundation, Inc., UL, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Bridgestone Retail Operations, Experian, Toyota Financial Services, and American Express.

Consumer-savvy teens representing 32 states will compete at this year’s national event. Throughout the 2011-2012 program year, more than 15,000 teens competed online for a chance to represent their states at the 2012 National LifeSmarts Championship. Players answered more than 3 million consumer questions in the online competition.
When:  April 21 – April 24, 2012
Where:  Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel, 201 N. 17h St., Philadelphia
Final match:  Tuesday, April 24, 10:45 a.m. EDT
Parents and teachers can follow the action at the official 2012 National LifeSmarts Championship blog (www.lifesmartsnationals.blogspot.com).
 

The semi-final and final competition matches will be streamed live at www.lifesmarts.org:  Tuesday, April 24, 2012, Semi-finals: 9 am Eastern Daylight
 

Finals: 10:45 am EDT

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America's pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.  LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.