American Express Company 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

GRI INDEX
Helping students build a
healthy financial future
Mississippi: In a town called
Clarksdale, half of the population had
no access to banking. So in 2014, we
partnered with nonprofits Moneythink
and EveryoneOne to launch a threeyear
financial literacy program to help
Clarksdale High School students – and
in turn, their parents – build and
prepare for a healthy financial future.
It’s called “Clarksdale Dollars & Sense”
and it gives students internet access at
home, a financial mentorship program,
and mobile phone-based learning apps.
For the first time, Clarksdale high
school seniors will benefit from a
financial literacy curriculum integrated
into their Government and Economics
classes and taught by committed
Moneythink mentors from local
universities. An external partner is
tracking the program’s effectiveness.
China: Since 2004, we have sponsored
Junior Achievement China’s “My
Money Business”, an in-class program
that helps students aged 14 -19 in
Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou
learn how to manage their finances
and establish good habits. To date,
more than 650 American Express
and community volunteers have been
involved, reaching more than 10,000
students. In the 2015/2016 academic
year, the program plans to engage 150
volunteers and reach 1,200 students.
Utah: American Express Centurion
Bank and American Express Bank,
FSB are the only banks in Utah
that partnered with Fair Credit and
EverFi to provide a new computerbased
financial literacy and critical
life skills training to Title 1 schools
(those with high percentages of
students from low-income families)
in Salt Lake, San Juan, and Tooele
Counties. San Juan and Tooele
Counties are the primary locations
of Native American land in Utah.
The EverFi program is web-based
and utilizes the latest in new media
technologies—video, animations,
3-D gaming, avatars, and social
networking—to bring complex
financial concepts to life for a
digital generation.
To date, more than
650 American Express
and community
volunteers have been
involved, reaching
more than 10,000
students.
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