HELPING HAND-Local H&R Block franchisee Dolores West recently announced Clay County High School will be receiving help in the form of a grant from the company's Dollars and Sense initiative. Pictured left to right are CCHS teacher Amy McLerran Dodson, valedictorian Elizabeth Copeland, West, and principal John Denton. (photo submitted)

CELINA-Imagine if teenagers controlled their families’ finances. Would they know how to spend and save money wisely? Or would they max out every credit card? It’s hard to know, but with 50 percent of high school seniors failing when tested on basic personal finance1, it’s not a gamble many parents would take.  But students at Clay County High School may soon be helping alter those statistics for the better, thanks to a donation from H&R Block.

Clay County High School will receive personal finance software and lesson plans offered through H&R Block Dollars & Sense, an initiative focused on increasing teens’ financial fitness. The game-like simulation teaches students how to budget, use debit and credit cards, save money, pay rent and avoid debt.

“Across the country, teens are graduating without a good understanding of how to manage their money,” said Dolores West, local franchisee of H&R Block. “We want to help ensure Clay County graduates are empowered for a strong financial future, and hope this gift helps both the students and the school.”

Teachers using the program say their students are “addicted.” Mike Dwyer of Eisenhower High School in Yakima, Wash., said the program was instantly embraced at his school. “The kids love it. I have students coming in at 7 a.m., waiting at my door so they can use the program,” Dwyer said.

In applying for the 2012 H & R Block Dollars & Sense Grant, local teacher Amy Dodson  stated, “This curriculum would be an excellent resource for the business and economics classes at Clay County High School.”    She thanks everyone who cast online votes to make Clay County High School one of 252  schools nationwide to receive the grant this year.

Since 2009, H&R Block Dollars & Sense has awarded nearly $3 million in personal finance curriculum grants and scholarships to high schools and students nationwide.  For more information, visit www.hrblockdollarsandsense.com or www.facebook.com/hrbds.

About H&R Block

H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) is one of the world’s largest tax services providers, having prepared more than 550 million tax returns worldwide since 1955. In fiscal 2010, H&R Block had annual revenues of $3.9 billion and prepared more than 23 million tax returns worldwide utilizing more than 100,000 highly trained tax professionals. The Company is also one of the leading providers of business services through RSM McGladrey. For more information, visit our Online Press Center.