4.17.2008 - 09:22am ET

(CSRwire) A $200,000 gift from the ING Foundation will establish a new course this summer to help teenagers in the Elon Academy enrichment program learn more about personal finance and responsibility, university and ING officials announced this week.

The endowment gift allows the Academy to hold two sessions of the course, "Personal Finance and Economic Competency," for students attending Elon University’s residential program each summer in North Carolina. The course will assess students' basic knowledge and skills in managing their money, address the consequences of poor financial choices, and motivate students to assume personal responsibility for their financial stability.

"The ING Foundation's primary focus is financial empowerment," says Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation. "Putting our financial support into a personal finance and economic literacy curriculum for Elon Academy aligns with our mission to help children prepare to manage their financial lives, securing them a better future."

The ING Foundation gift to the Elon Academy comes during national Financial Literacy Month. Both chambers of the U.S. Congress designated April 2008 as a time to raise public awareness about the importance of personal financial education and increasing personal savings while reducing debt.

"The Personal Finance and Economic Competency class is a key tool for awakening these young minds to the possibilities and rewards of personal financial responsibility," said Elon President Leo M. Lambert. "An investment in this integral component of the Elon Academy curriculum is an investment in ING’s philosophy of motivating individuals to assume personal responsibility for their financial well-being."

About the Elon Academy:

Launched by Elon University in 2007, the Elon Academy is an intensive three-year academic enrichment and leadership development program for local high school students with high financial need or no family history of attending college. It combines
a month-long residential program over three successive summers with follow-up experiences during the academic year.

About ING:

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 75 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of over 120,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

In the U.S., the ING (NYSE: ING) family of companies offer a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves over 14 million customers across the nation.

About the ING Foundation:

The ING Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in the communities where ING operates and its employees and customers live. Through charitable giving and employee volunteerism, the foundation focuses on sustainable programs in the areas of financial literacy, children's education and diversity.

For more information, visit www.ing.com.

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Commitment to Transparency: This organization is committed to transparency and stakeholder dialogue and encourages your comments and feedback.

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