9.26.2006 - 12:23pm ET

(CSRwire) WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2006--Results of a new survey by Capital One Financial Corporation show that 94 percent of 8th graders have never had a personal finance class, yet 48 percent would like to learn more about managing money. Capital One and JA Worldwide(TM) (Junior Achievement) have teamed up to create the Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park that will be unveiled today in Washington before it heads to Fairfax and Richmond, Va., this fall.

The Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park(TM) (Finance Park) is a mobile, interactive classroom - two 53-foot semi-trucks that feature 2,000 square feet of training space and can host up to 60 students at a time - where students are given real-life financial situations and taught how to make important decisions on money matters and establish a personal budget.

Prior to arriving at Finance Park, students prepare by participating in twenty-four hours of classroom instruction led by their teachers on financial literacy topics including saving, investing, taxes, budgeting and career planning. When they arrive, each student receives a life scenario that includes job and salary information, family situation (single, married with children) and existing financial commitments (student loans, car payments, rent). Their challenge is to take what they've learned in the classroom and apply it at Finance Park to make sound financial decisions and maintain a personal budget.

"Students can be adults for a day," said David S. Chernow, president and CEO of JA Worldwide, which developed the curriculum for the program. "Through our partnership with Capital One in developing our mobile Finance Park, together we will provide more middle school students the opportunity to get a head start on learning about some of the financial decisions they may encounter down the road."

"With this new mobile classroom, we hope to provide middle schoolers access to financial education resources and instill money management skills that will last a lifetime," said Richard Woods, senior vice president at Capital One. "Finance Park allows us the flexibility to bring financial education to our local communities--our associates will play an active role in opening possibilities and building self-confidence in these young adults."

Finance Park will make its inaugural stop in Washington on September 26 before pulling into Fairfax from October 12-October 25 and Richmond from October 30-November 8. More than 200 Capital One volunteers will staff the Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park and mentor the nearly 1,000 students who will pass through the mobile, interactive classroom this fall. Plans are under way to bring Finance Park to the Washington D.C. area, Richmond, Va.; and communities in Texas in 2007.

About JA Worldwide(TM) (Junior Achievement)

JA Worldwide is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, JA Worldwide provides in-school and after-school programs for students in grades K-12. JA Worldwide offers educational programs that focus on seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development. Today, 139 individual area operations reach approximately four million students in the United States, with more than 3.5 million students served by operations in 100 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

About Capital One

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company, with more than 324 locations in Texas and Louisiana. Its principal subsidiaries, Capital One Bank, Capital One, F.S.B., Capital One Auto Finance, Inc., and Capital One, N.A., offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had $47.2 billion in deposits and $108.4 billion in managed loans outstanding as of June 30, 2006. Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 500 index.



Copyright Business Wire 2006

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