Buffalo, N.Y. — About 300 Western New York high school students will learn to be more financially savvy at the Your Life, Your Money outreach event, presented by WNED and Erie Community College Career Pathways on Thursday, October 15. This awareness and education experience takes place in the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Presentations and hands-on activities will draw from the WNED-produced documentary Your Life, Your Money, which premiered nationally on PBS in September (and will re-air Nov. 24 at 10 pm on WNED-TV).

The event is part of a national financial literacy initiative aimed at young adults and funded by the HSBC in the Community (USA) Inc. Foundation. Presenters will include young people featured in the documentary, including singer D. Woods of Danity Kane and Buffalo entrepreneur Tim Bouchard, who owns a graphic/Web design firm, as well as a counselor from Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Buffalo, Inc. Radio personality Tom Ragan from 103.3 The Edge will host and moderate the event.

“The idea is to give students a taste of the real-world financial issues they will face in the near future, such as credit card use, long-term savings and personal budgeting,” said John Craig, Ph.D., Director of Education and Outreach for WNED. “We want to teach students but also involve them with fun features, such as an interactive financial obstacle course in our ‘Money Room.’ ”

Although the event is closed to additional participants, all educators, parents and students are invited to make use of comprehensive information, learning materials and resources from the YOUR LIFE, YOUR MONEY Web site: pbs.org/your-life-your-money. The site includes the complete documentary, hosted by actor Donald Faison (Dr. Christopher Turk on Scrubs).  Media inquiries should be directed to Darwin McPherson at 716-845-7155.