Teams Sought for LifeSmarts Hawaii Competition

Kaʻū High School. Courtesy file photo.

The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Office of the Securities Commissioner invites high school teams to enter the 2015-16 LifeSmarts Hawaii Competition, a fun, free, national educational program that teaches youth critical life skills in five areas—personal finance, consumer rights and responsibilities, health and safety, environment and technology—through online quizzes and in-person competitions.

Teams must consist of a minimum of four students and one adult coach. LifeSmarts Hawaii begins at the local level with an online competition from Oct. 26 to Dec. 4, 2015, at 7 p.m. The four highest scoring teams will be invited to compete at the state championship competition in Honolulu on Feb. 20, 2016. The winning team will represent Hawai‘i at the national LifeSmarts competition, scheduled for April 9 through 12, 2016, in Denver.

“We are excited to sponsor another year of the LifeSmarts Hawaii program, and we encourage teachers and youths statewide to sign up a team or teams to gain or strengthen their life skills,” said Securities Commissioner Ty Nohara.

Middle school or “Junior Varsity” teams with students in grades 6 to 8 may participate in an online-only competition from September 2015 to February 2016. Winners of the JV competition will be recognized online.

For more information about the LifeSmarts Hawaii program, including up-to-date consumer educational resources for coaches, visit www.lifesmartshawaii.com.

For team registration, visit lifesmarts.org or contact LifeSmarts State Coordinator Theresa Kong Kee at 587-7400 or [email protected].

The LifeSmarts Hawaii program is sponsored by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Office of the Securities Commissioner, in partnership with the Hawaii Credit Union League, and is run by the National Consumers League. Over 850 local students have participated in LifeSmarts in the past 11 years that DCCA has sponsored the competition. Local businesses interested in becoming a sponsor of the LifeSmarts Hawaii program are welcome to contact the State Coordinator for more information.