| More to Girl Scouts than selling cookies | |||
| Apr 3, 2008 | The Washington Times | ||
| By Andrea Billups - Laurel Richie assures that the Thin Mints, peanut butter and shortbread Trefoil cookies enjoyed by millions each spring will remain the same. But as a brand, the Girl Scouts of the USA is changing.
The service organization, founded in 1912 and now boasts 2.7 million members from 236,000 troops in 90 countries, has hired its first-ever chief marketing officer (CMO) in an effort to remain relevant for today's modern girls.
"As an organization, they are doing such good, but I think the public has a somewhat limited view of the Girl Scouts today," says Miss Richie, the new CMO and a former Brownie and Girl Scout who less than two weeks ago took over the duties of revamping the iconic organization, best known for its cookie sales.
"As girls change, and their hopes and dreams for themselves change, we as a brand want to stay current with that," she says.
Among those changes is a face-lift for the skill sets the scouts are learning. While girls once earned their badges in more traditional areas such as cooking and sewing, girls today earn their patches and awards in exploring diverse interests such as aerospace, computer fun and eco-action, along with desktop publishing and conflict resolution.
The shift already is in full display on the Girl Scouts of Metro Detroit's Web site, in which preteen and teen scout members can sign up for camping and for a half-day class on how to become a CEO. How to start a mother-and-daughter business and money management are among the topics.
Such an effort in teaching entrepreneurship is spot-on, says Miss Richie, and a part of a reinvention designed to offer girls a vision of possibilities as they move forward.
"In our society, those skills are usually taught to men or to boys," she says of courses in financial literacy. "Sometimes, girls are sort of shepherded a bit toward the arts and some of the softer academic classes, and boys are geared toward math and science. This organization is encouraging girls to explore science, technology, engineering and math."
The Girl Scouts will continue its long-standing traditions of camping, hiking and community service, but it also is promoting programs that help build self-esteem and encourage healthy living choices.
"There's a broader set of skills that speak to the holistic development of young girls," Miss Richie adds. "These girls are going to have the same experiences they have always had that come from belonging and from the sisterhood of an organization that helps you bond with your fellow girls. But I think it's now taking a look at the whole girl in a whole-life context and developing multiple skills in these young women."
Key to Miss Richie's update is teaching leadership, she says. Statistics have shown that about 10 percent of girls become Girl Scouts but about 80 percent of Girl Scouts become leaders, she says.
Through the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI), the organization is trying to gauge girls' attitudes about becoming future leaders and send them on a path that bolsters their confidence to take charge.
"What we are learning is that today's girls are looking and aspiring to be a different kind of leader than they see in their world today," she says of a GSRI study released last month. "They look at leaders in the general population as sort of a command-and-control style of leadership. What the girls are yearning for is a more collaborative and inclusive style of leadership.
"They are also focused on leadership that leads to a common good," she adds, noting one scout's development of a self-defense class for victims of physical abuse living in homeless shelters.
While Miss Richie is focused on overhauling the image, the changes in the Girl Scouts over the past decade have been criticized by some as a drift from a traditional model into one that is described as too feminist.
Robert Knight, director of the Culture and Media Institute, says that at a national level, "the elite at the top seem dedicated to turning the scouts into a feminist liberal institution."
"As far back as 1993, they said that sexual orientation was no bar to leadership," he says. "In 1994, they pretty much dispensed with God as part of the Girl Scout oath. I think that some of those little girls out there selling cookies and the leaders along with them are doing it for the best reasons. I wish some of them would speak out a bit more against the leftward drift of national leadership."
In 1995, Patti Garibay of the Cincinnati area formed a similar but more traditional group called American Heritage Girls, which now has 185 troops in 33 states with a plan to expand into all 50 this year. The group's oath promises to love God, cherish family, honor country and serve in the community, and it freely uses Bible verses in its scouting materials.
Mr. Knight applauds its focus on faith.
"I think the reason girls and their moms go into Girl Scouting is not to become political activists," he adds. "I think they try to ignore the radical elements while retaining what is best in girl scouting. I think there are a lot of good Girl Scout leaders out there who are doing their best in spite of national leadership."
Miss Richie says her organization will keep to its mission "to build girls of courage, confidence and character who want to make a difference in the world."
In the past year, Girl Scouts have partnered with Vanessa and Angela Simmons, the daughters of hip hop Run-D.M.C. group member Joseph Simmons, whose family appears on the reality-TV series "Run's House." The girls joined their local Girl Scout troop in a November episode, which is linked to a special Girl Scouts Web site to help promote scouting in a "cool and relevant" way.
Miss Richie envisions a new brand that honors the important traditions that have kept scouting going and one that is evolving in a modern way that captures current youth interests.
"We want to be as vibrant as the girls we serve," she says. | |||
Thursday, April 3, 2008
More to Girl Scouts than selling cookies
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
WSJ: High-Interest Lenders Tap Eldery, Disabled
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| February 12, 2008 | |||
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| DOW JONES REPRINTS   This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit:www.djreprints.com. • See a sample reprint in PDF format. • Order a reprint of this article now. SOCIAL INSECURITY | ||||||
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| See more maps showing how storefront lenders have targeted recipients of government benefits. |
The crowd represents the newest twist for a fast-growing industry -- lenders that make high-interest loans, often called "payday" loans, that are secured by upcoming paychecks. Such lenders are increasingly targeting recipients of Social Security and other government benefits, including disability and veteran's benefits. "These people always get paid, rain or shine," says William Harrod, a former manager of payday loan stores in suburban Virginia and Washington, D.C. Government beneficiaries "will always have money, every 30 days."
The law bars the government from sending a recipient's benefits directly to lenders. But many of these lenders are forging relationships with banks and arranging for prospective borrowers to have their benefits checks deposited directly into bank accounts. The banks immediately transfer government funds to the lenders. The lender then subtracts debt repayments, plus fees and interest, before giving the recipients a dime.
As a result, these lenders, which pitch loans with effective annual interest as high as 400% or more, can gain almost total control over Social Security recipients' finances.
There are no publicly available statistics on the proportion of payday loans that are backed by Social Security and other government benefits. But dozens of legal-aid lawyers, senior service groups and credit counselors across the country say they are seeing more and more clients on Social Security struggling with multiple payday loans.
The Treasury Department, charged with ensuring that Social Security payments reach beneficiaries, says privacy rules forbid it from monitoring recipients' bank accounts without cause. Social Security Administration officials say the agency isn't responsible for benefits once paid out and that beneficiaries who run into problems should consult an attorney.
An analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows many payday lenders are clustered around government-subsidized housing for seniors and the disabled. The research was done by Steven Graves, a geographer at California State University at Northridge, at The Wall Street Journal's request. His previous work was cited by the Department of Defense in its effort to cap the amounts lenders can charge military personnel.
| Audrey Miller, a disabled woman in Cleveland, Va., is one of a growing number of Social Security recipients who have become victims of predatory lenders. WSJ's Ellen Schultz explains why. |
Lenders say they provide a useful service. "This industry provides convenient access to small amounts of money," said Tommy Moore, executive vice president of the Community Financial Services Association of America, which says it represents about 60% of payday loan stores. "It certainly wouldn't be right for the business to discriminate against them for whatever the source of their income is."
But some industry critics say fixed-income borrowers are not only more reliable, they are also more lucrative. Often elderly or disabled, they are typically dependent on smaller fixed incomes and are rarely able to pay off their loans quickly. "It's not like they can work more hours," says David Rothstein, an analyst at Policy Matters Ohio, an economic research group in Cleveland. "They're trapped."
Mr. Harrod was a manager of a Check 'n Go store across the street from Fort Lincoln Senior Citizen's Village, a subsidized-housing complex for the elderly and disabled in Washington, D.C. Mr. Harrod says he was encouraged by his supervisors to recruit the elderly, and did so by often eating his lunch on nearby benches to strike up conversations with the complex's residents. According to Mr. Graves's analysis, there are at least four payday lenders within a mile-and-a-half of Fort Lincoln.
Mr. Harrod quit his job in August over concerns that the company exploited its customers and targeted vulnerable groups and began working with groups seeking limits on payday lending.
Yancy Deering, a spokesman for Check 'n Go, a unit of closely held Ohio-based CNG Holdings Inc., which has more than 1,300 stores nationwide, confirms Mr. Harrod's tenure but says the company doesn't target the elderly. He adds the company doesn't track what proportion of customers depend on government benefits.
Social Security recipients weren't always a natural market for payday lenders, which typically require borrowers to have a bank account and a regular source of income. For years, a large percentage of government beneficiaries lacked traditional bank accounts, choosing to just cash their checks instead.
But by the late 1990s, the federal government began requiring that Social Security beneficiaries receive their benefits by electronic deposit to a bank account, unless they opt out. The number of recipients with direct deposit soared to more than 80% today, up from 56% in 1996. Citing taxpayer savings and greater security and convenience for recipients, the government is making a fresh push to get the remaining holdouts to participate.
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With direct deposit, Social Security recipients could now more easily pledge their future checks as collateral for small short-term loans. Oliver Hummel, a Billings, Mont., resident with schizophrenia, lived on the $1,013 a month in Social Security disability benefits he received by direct deposit to his bank account. Early last year, after his car broke down and his 13-year-old terrier racked up a big vet bill, Mr. Hummel borrowed $200 from a local lender.
Like many payday borrowers, Mr. Hummel realized he couldn't pay off the loan when it was due so he went to another "payday" lender. Lenders rarely ask about other loans and debt, and borrowers often take out multiple loans in an effort to avoid defaulting. By February, Mr. Hummel had eight loans from eight lenders, at effective annual interest rates that ranged from 180% to 406%.
The industry mushroomed in the 1990s and continues to prosper. Analysts estimate that payday loan volume has climbed to about $48 billion a year from about $13.8 billion in 1999. Most payday lenders are small and privately held. The biggest publicly traded company is Advance America Cash Advance Centers Inc., based in Spartanburg, S.C., with 2,900 stores in three dozen states and reported earnings of $42.9 million in the first nine months of 2007.
'Buckwheat' Bevels
In November 2002, when Melvin Bevels was short of money for groceries and rent, the elderly man visited a Small Loans store in Sylacauga, Ala., and borrowed money -- he thinks it was $200. Small Loans is part of a sprawling network of more than a hundred lenders in four states, including Georgia, Florida and Louisiana, owned by Money Tree Inc., a closely held Bainbridge, Ga., firm.
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Mr. Bevels, who can't read, says a clerk helped him fill out papers that instructed Social Security to send Mr. Bevels's $565 monthly benefits to an account at an out-of-state bank, which transferred the money back to Small Loans or its parent, usually within a day. As is often the case, Mr. Bevels's bank earned no interest and didn't come with either ATM cards or checks.
Every month for nearly four years, Mr. Bevels, who is known around town as "Buckwheat" because of his thatch of yellow-white hair, rode his motorized mobility scooter to Small Loans to pick up his "allowance," which was sometimes as little as $180 a month, he says.
In a written statement, Money Tree's general counsel, Natasha Wood, declined to comment on Mr. Bevels's case but said: "Anyone who sets up a direct deposit arrangement with Small Loans Inc. does so completely voluntarily."
Mr. Bevels, who believes he's 80 but isn't sure, quickly lost control of his finances. When his utilities were shut off, a neighbor gave Mr. Bevels water in a plastic jug and ran an extension cord to Mr. Bevels's trailer a few hours a day to power his nebulizer, which delivers aerosol medication to people with chronic lung conditions. Mr. Bevels was facing eviction when his trailer burned down, leaving him homeless.
A county social worker arranged for Mr. Bevels to move to public housing and got his Social Security benefits redirected to a local bank. When Small Loans sued Mr. Bevels for repayment in small-claims court in Talladega County, Ala., a legal-aid attorney headed to court. The judge threw out the case when the lender failed to appear with documentation for the loan.
"It just isn't fair, what they do to old people," says Mr. Bevels, crying quietly. "It isn't right."
Ms. Wood, the lawyer for Small Loans, said in her statement: "Small Loans Inc. does not file suit against anyone because they move their direct deposit service elsewhere."
No regulatory agency tracks how much Social Security money is going to lenders as repayment for payday loans. A 2006 study by the Consumer Federation of America found that one-fifth of those without conventional bank accounts are receiving their government benefit checks through nonbanks, including payday lenders that also operate as check-cashing stores.
Social Security recipients are supposed to enjoy more protections than other borrowers: Federal law says that creditors can't seize Social Security benefits to repay debts. Small Loans and two banks with which it has partnered say their arrangements don't violate any laws. But critics say such arrangements effectively thwart the intention of the law. Social Security recipients can not only lose their benefits, but face lawsuits, harassment and even jail.
Jailed in Clayton
In December 2006, Jennifer Rumph, a disabled single mother of three, went to Miracle Finance Inc. to buy her children a computer for Christmas. She picked a laptop from the store's catalog and the Miracle Finance clerk said it would cost a little over $600, Ms. Rumph recalls. Some lenders have catalogs of merchandise and lend money to make the purchase. In the end, the loan came to $1,326, which included principal, interest and a fee for insurance that would pay off the loan to the lender if Ms. Rumph died, according to loan paperwork.
The company had Ms. Rumph, 43, sign documents directing her teenage son's Social Security disability check, which is $623 a month, to the company by way of an intermediary bank -- a condition for getting the loan, she says. The Social Security Administration says it doesn't have a problem with lenders capturing Social Security checks of disabled or orphaned children as long as the benefits money ultimately goes to the "current needs" of the child.
Like Mr. Bevels, Ms. Rumph didn't receive an ATM card or a checkbook. Each month she would go to Miracle Finance 30 miles away in Abbeville, Ala., to pick up what remained of her son Jeremiah's benefits after the company subtracted fees, interest and loan repayments, usually leaving her with less than $300 of her son's check.
Ms. Rumph, whose medical problems include severe asthma and two hip replacements, was unable to pay her bills on that amount. Much of the $623-a-month in disability benefits she receives for herself was going to a nearby Small Loans store to repay a different loan. She tried to return the computer, but a Miracle Finance employee said it wouldn't reduce her debt, and then the computer stopped working this summer, she recalls.
In the following months, Ms. Rumph says she asked Social Security several times to redirect her son's check to her mailbox, but to little avail.
Attorneys for Legal Services Alabama, whom Ms. Rumph ultimately contacted, say that each time she tried to cancel the arrangement, the company appears to have resubmitted her original direct-deposit paperwork, which Social Security honored despite her efforts to cancel it.
A Social Security spokeswoman says that when beneficiaries cancel direct-deposit arrangements with the agency, they should also contact the bank that had been receiving the check. Ms. Rumph says she never knew the identity of the bank receiving her son's Social Security benefits.
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After Ms. Rumph fell behind on her payments, Miracle Finance sued her in small-claims court in Abbeville, Ala. Although federal law says creditors can't seize Social Security, disability and veteran's benefits to pay a debt, enforcement of the law is scant, and many Social Security recipients are unaware of their legal rights. Lenders and their debt collectors routinely sue Social Security recipients who fall behind in their payments, and threaten them with criminal prosecution, senior advocates say.
Debtors must go to court to prove their case. Ms. Rumph says she didn't know any of this and was afraid to go to court. Miracle Finance won a $1,500 default judgment in July, and four days later sought a court order requiring Ms. Rumph to appear in person to detail her income and assets.
After Ms. Rumph failed to appear at two hearings at Miracle Finance's request, a judge ordered a warrant for her arrest.
In November, Miracle Finance kept the full amount of Jeremiah Rumph's disability check. Ms. Rumph fell behind on her $300-a-month rent for her mobile home and faced eviction. After she was unable to pay utility bills, her electricity was turned off briefly the day before Thanksgiving.
On Sunday, Dec. 9, as she was getting ready for church, two sheriff's deputies came to Ms. Rumph's home, handcuffed her in front of her children and hauled her away. Ms. Rumph spent several hours in jail until an uncle paid the court $1,500. Miracle Finance didn't respond to numerous requests for comment.
A judge last week said Miracle Finance couldn't force Ms. Rumph to pay the debt because her Social Security income is protected under federal law. But she still owes more than $5,000 on loans from almost a dozen other lenders. "I want to pay them back," she says. "I can't."
Write to Ellen E. Schultz at ellen.schultz@wsj.com6 and Theo Francis at theo.francis@wsj.com7
Monday, February 11, 2008
Trib: Foundations target South, West Sides
Foundations target South, West Sides
By Charles Storch
Leading Chicago foundations are creating a multimillion-dollar fund to
protect South and West Side neighborhoods from being overlooked or
overwhelmed in the city's pursuit of an Olympic Games.
The fund could eventually support everything from housing to tourism to
job training, foundation officials said Friday. They also see the fund
as helping Chicago's chances with the International Olympic Committee to
land the 2016 Summer Games.
"Part of the judgment that is made when choosing a site is how deeply a
community has been engaged in the planning and what possibilities there
are for a lasting legacy," said Jonathan Fanton, president of the John
D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. "I think this fund is an
expression of Chicago's determination to make the Olympics a benefit for
all neighborhoods, all peoples and all sectors in the city."
"We want to reassure neighborhood leaders and groups with which we've
been working that they will have a voice," said Fanton.
MacArthur, the Chicago Community Trust and the McCormick Tribune
Foundation -- the city's three largest philanthropies, in terms of
assets -- each are putting $1 million into the 2016 Olympics Fund for
Chicago Neighborhoods. (McCormick Tribune Foundation is independent of
Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune.) The much smaller Polk
Bros. Foundation is kicking in $500,000.
They are inviting corporations and other foundations to join the fund,
and they foresee the $3.5 million now in hand to double or triple.
The fund initially will focus on Washington Park, Englewood, Grand
Boulevard, Kenwood, Woodlawn and Douglas Park on the South Side; and
East Garfield Park, Near West Side, Pilsen, Little Village and North
Lawndale on the West Side.
Trust President Terry Mazany and Fanton said the first grants could be
awarded in coming months. They may be used to canvass residents and fund
research on jobs, business development and tourism opportunities.
Later grants may support community planning, affordable housing,
education and job training.
Mayor Richard Daley applauded the foundations and said this commitment
"underscores their generosity and continued investment in the future of
our city and our neighborhoods."
Patrick Ryan, chairman of the Chicago committee bidding for the
Olympics, said his group had sought support from the foundations, but
they felt a community initiative would be more appropriate. He said the
fund is "an incredible contribution" that will be of lasting benefit
even if the city loses the Games.
Mazany said it was important to begin the fund now rather than wait
until October 2009, when Chicago should learn whether it hosts the
Games.
"The planning and energy now [for the Games] will result in some real
and lasting changes, regardless of the decision by the International
Olympic Committee," he said.
Mazany said the foundations want to make sure that affordable housing is
a part of new development proposed for the Olympic bid.
---
cstorch@tribune.com.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Truth in numbers: The agony of air travel
 MSNBC.com |
Truth in numbers: The agony of air travel
It’s official. The year-end numbers just released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) confirm what most of us already knew: Flying was a nightmare last year. Any worse and it would’ve made it into the record books as the worst year ever.
Consider the numbers:
The airline industry’s on-time performance rate for arrivals dropped to 73.4 percent last year, down from 75.4 percent in 2006 and depressingly close to the all-time low of 72.6 percent scored in 2000.
The airlines mishandled more than 4.4 million pieces of luggage, up from 4 million and roughly equivalent to one bag going astray on every full 737-700 flight during the year.
Almost 64,000 passengers were involuntarily “bumped” last year, an increase of 8.3 percent (on a per-emplaned-passenger basis) and the second-worst showing since 1996.
You could complain — according to DOT, more than 13,000 people did last year, up 58 percent from 2006 — but, let’s face it, that won’t get your time, bags or boarding pass back.
Instead, you’d be better served trying to ensure that such mishaps don’t happen to you. And since 2008 is already looking sketchy, now is a good time to revisit the rules of defensive flying.
Dodging delays
Conventional wisdom says to fly early in the day because of the cascading effect one delayed flight can have on others. That’s still generally the case, but it’s also true that on-time performance — or the lack thereof — is a function of many factors:
Know your airports: Operated by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Avoiddelays.com provides specific tips on getting in and out of 29 major airports around the country. Avoid arriving into Logan after 5 p.m. Sunday–Thursday when incoming flights tend to back up, for example, and consider leaving Las Vegas on Tuesday or Saturday when check-in and security lines are at their shortest.
Know your flights: Fly non-stop — even if it means paying a premium. Every takeoff and landing is another opportunity for things to go wrong. If you must make a connection, don’t be suckered by unrealistically short layovers. You may be able to get across O’Hare or DFW in 30 minutes, but it won’t do you a bit of good if your inbound flight is an hour late taking off.
Know thy enemy: The DOT report also lists the industry’s worst offenders, i.e., those flights that are late 70 and 80 percent of the time. Do not book these flights — especially if you need to make a connection at the other end.
Bumps are for chumps
You paid for a seat; you shouldn’t be involuntarily bumped from it just because the airline overbooked your flight. (Voluntarily giving up your seat for cash or a ticket voucher is another matter — just remember that with today’s packed-to-the-max planes, there’s no telling when an available seat might appear.)
Pick a seat: Always make a seat assignment when you make a reservation. If an airline can’t find volunteers, travelers without seat assignments are the first to get bumped. Checking in early — e.g., online as soon it’s permitted — will also provide some protection.
Know your airline: The Denied Boarding section of the Air Travel Consumer Report ranks the nation’s major airlines for both voluntary and involuntary bumps. JetBlue, for example, almost never overbooks its flights, while regional flyers Comair and Atlantic Southeast are notorious for doing so.
Know your rights: DOT provides a full explanation of the rules governing bumps, including compensation, in its Consumer Guide to Air Travel. Similar information can also be found on your airline’s contract of carriage.
No more mishandled bags
This no time to get lazy about luggage. Lost, delayed, damaged or pilfered — the airlines reported that 7.03 bags went awry last year for every 1,000 passengers. To avoid becoming one of the statistics:
Fly non-stop (revisited): When connecting flights are delayed, guess what happens to the bags in their cargo holds? In fact, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), 61 percent of mishandled bags end up that way during connections.
Arrive early: Baggage check-in requirements vary by airline and airport — most are 30 to 45 minutes for domestic flights — but it’s a safe bet that if you have to dash for a plane, your luggage won’t make the trip.
Be tag aware: Remove all old baggage tags and confirm that the new one has the correct airport code for your destination. When you’re flying to JFK, you don’t want your bags ending up in GFK (Grand Forks, N.D.) or, worse, KGF (Karaganda, Kazakhstan). Ticketing errors, says IATA, account for nine percent of mishandled bags.
Go carry-on-only: The single smartest thing you can do to make sure your bags go where you go. After all, if you don’t give the airlines your luggage, they can’t lose it in the first place.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23013172/