AXA Equitable Life, a leading financial services company, today marked Teacher Appreciation Week with new programs and increased funding to help educators and high school students make sound financial decisions. The AXA Equitable Foundation – the company’s philanthropic arm – is making a $100,000 grant to Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), the premier youth health and safety organization, to help create a financial literacy program for students, educators and their families.
The company also announced the expansion of its annual scholarship program, which has now awarded nearly $30 million dollars to more than 6,500 students and their schools since 2003. This year’s 369 students and their schools will receive a total of $1.8 million to support their education or professional development.
“Teaching young people how to manage finances and build wealth is critical to our future as a society,” said Steve Scanlon, Managing Director and Head of Group Retirement at AXA Equitable Life. “By helping teachers and their students learn about personal finance, we can have a positive impact on their lives, and give back to the teachers who are tirelessly working to strengthen their communities.”
The grant to SADD will support the creation of a customized financial literacy program that will help students, their families and teachers manage money based on their life stage and goals. AXA Equitable Life will work with SADD to create the program, which will pilot in select markets in the 2019-2020 school year. The program will include the following initiatives:
“As young people, teens gain little insight into the long-term consequences of poor financial planning,” said Rick Birt, SADD President and CEO. “We look forward to connecting our school-based chapters with AXA Advisors Financial Professionals to create a program that will give students, their families, and educators the opportunity to improve their financial literacy.”
Each year, high school students from around the country are selected to receive scholarships of up to $25,000 based on their exemplary leadership skills and a commitment to making a positive contribution to the world, and their high schools also receive a $1,000 grant. This year, the company expanded the program with some winners nominating an educator who has had a positive impact on them or their school to receive a new, additional grant of $1,000 in honor of that educator, bringing their school’s total grant to $2,000.
The schools receiving the additional new grant are:
The 2019 National Winners ($25,000 student scholarship) are:
Visit the AXA Equitable Life Retirement Education Center for resources and tools to help learn about retirement planning.
Visit the AXA Equitable Foundation for a full list of the scholarship and educator grant recipients.
About AXA Equitable Life
AXA Equitable Life is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EQH). Founded in 1859, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (AXA Equitable) (NY, NY) is one of America’s leading financial services providers with 2.8 million customers and more than $196 billion of assets under management (as of 12/31/18). AXA Equitable Life’s mission is to help people retire with dignity, protect their families and prepare for their financial futures with confidence. AXA Equitable and AXA Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) are affiliated companies.
About SADD
For almost 40 years, SADD, the nation’s premier youth health and safety organization has worked to empower teens, engage parents, mobilize communities, and change lives around the issues of traffic safety, substance abuse, and personal health and safety. Through a national network of peer-led chapters in middle schools, high schools and colleges, SADD equips our students with the resources they need to advocate for change on their campuses and in their communities. Join the movement by visiting www.sadd.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
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For AXA Equitable Life:
Abby Aylman Cohen or Jennifer Compton
[email protected]
(212)
314-2010
For SADD:
Julie Kettner
[email protected]
(703)
477-4492