Latest News at Events at ByDesign

Financial Firsts Milestone and Recognition
(posted 8/7/07)
ByDesign's work in the foster care transitional youth community was recognized in a national inventory of financial education for foster youth.

The report, titled Connected by 25: Financing Asset Building and Financial Education Programs for Youth Transitioning out of Foster Care devotes a full page (p. 27) to work we have been doing and the efforts of our regional advisory committees to raise funds to support the initiative.

For more information, check out the report at: www.financeproject.org/publications/FinLitAssetBuild_SB.pdf

In addition, in April, Laura McGrew, creator of Financial Firsts and ByDesign's head of Education, was awarded California Jump$tart's award for "Personal Financial Literacy Leadership." The California Jump$tart Coalition works to improve the personal financial literacy of California's youth. In July, ByDesign reached our 1,000th foster youth with this award winning program!

Below: Laura McGrew receiving California Jump$tart's award from Norm Greenbaum, Jump$tart board member on April 26, 2007 in San Francisco.

ByDesign Thanks Valley Yellow Pages
(posted 8/7/07)
The Valley Yellow Pages has generously donated 38 ads to ByDesign in their 2007-2008 Fresno directory. This is the second year in a row that the company has given space to ByDesign. We greatly appreciate this in-kind donation as it helps us get the word out about our services to the entire Central Valley.

ByDesign Financial Solutions Wins Beacon Award 
On November 7, 2006, ByDesign Financial Solutions' new young adult program, Financial Firsts, was honored with the Beacon Award from the California Credit Union League's Richard Myles Johnson Foundation.

The prestigious Beacon Award formally recognizes individuals, credit unions, and other organizations making a difference in their communities with outreach efforts focused on financial literacy.

The award is a tribute to ByDesign's exceptional effort to provide financial literacy to foster youth throughout California, having recently presented the Financial Firsts workshop to the 500th foster youth.

For more information on Financial Firsts, click here. 

Below: ByDesign President and CEO, Peter Lake and ByDesign's Senior Vice President of Education with the Beacon Award at the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, November, 2006.

ByDesign Participates in Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and American Express Research Study on the Effectiveness of Credit Counseling
(posted 6/21/06)
ByDesign Financial Solutions (doing business as Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Los Angeles) is one of 10 credit counseling agencies nationwide to participate in a research study conducted by the Georgetown University Credit Research Center for American Express and CFA. In a report announcing the results of the first phase of the study, Georgetown recently announced the following conclusions:

• The act of seeking credit counseling is a valuable "early warning" indicator of financial trouble.
• Telephone and face-to-face counseling appear to generate equivalent outcomes.
• Creditworthiness (as measured by changes in credit scores two years after their initial counseling session) improved for debt management participants.

Researchers say that the study focuses on the experience of consumers at agencies (like ByDesign) that emphasize client education, so the results may not reflect those of the average agency clients nationwide. The study is ongoing.

American Express is providing the financial support for this study. For more information on the study results, please click here.

Blu Line Media Donates Bus Ads
(posted 5/10/06)
Blu Line Media, the company that places advertising on the buses in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles, has donated valuable interior ad space on the "Big Blue Buses" to ByDesign for June, July and August.  Our poster will be displayed in all 180 of the buses and reach 80,000 commuters on the Westside of Los Angeles daily. Thanks very much to Blu Line Media for its gracious donation and helping ByDesign to get the word out about our services!  Please click here to see the ad.

Golf For At-Risk Youth
(posted 5/2/06)
The Regional Advisory Committees of ByDesign's Sacramento and Stockton offices are hard at work setting up the organization's 2nd Annual ByDesign Golf Swing for At-Risk Youth which will be held on Monday, October 2nd at the Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento. This event will raise funds to assist in bringing financial life skills training to soon-to-be emancipated foster youth throughout the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.

For more information on how to get involved, please click here: www.bydesign.golfreg.com.

ByDesign Launches Innovative Financial Literacy Program with Californian Foster Youth
(posted 4/28/06)
In honor of National Foster Care Month in May, non-profit ByDesign Financial Solutions (dba Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Los Angeles, Sacramento, Mid-Counties and the Central Valley) debuts its financial education program, Financial Firsts, to young adults nearing age 18 in California’s foster care system.

The Financial Firsts program prepares participants with the skills they will need to live successfully on their own, without falling into financial straits during a typically vulnerable time.  The 10-hour curriculum, designed for teens and young adults entering the financial world, covers:

• First checking account;
• First job;
• First car;
• First credit card; and
• First home-away-from-home

For more information on the Financial Firsts program, how it is funded and where ByDesign is giving the program, please click here.

County Bank of the Central Valley Supports Foster Youth
(posted 4/27/06)
County Bank has donated $5,000 to non-profit ByDesign Financial Solutions to help bring its new "Financial Firsts" educational program to area youth in foster care to prepare them for turning 18 and emancipating ("aging out") of the system. The course, designed for teens and young adults just entering the financial world, covers the most important, yet so often mysterious, decisions: first bank account, first job, first car, first credit card and first home-away-from-home. Click here for the full story.

Launch of Spanish Web Site
(posted 4/3/06)
After many months of development, we are pleased to announce that the Spanish side of our web site is live! To check it out, go to our home page at: www.bydesignsolutions.org and click on En Español on the top of the screen.

Financial Firsts
(posted 4/3/06)
ByDesign presenters are in process of delivering our first Financial First workshop series for foster youth. The test group is in the Sacramento areas. We will use input from these first attendees to enhance the workshops we have scheduled to launch shortly in the other regions.

ByDesign and the California Credit Union League Partner to Promote Financial Literacy
(posted 3/13/06)
ByDesign Financial Solutions is pleased to announce that it has recently joined with the California Credit Union League (CCUL) to promote financial literacy to hundreds of the League's member credit unions throughout California and Nevada. Click here for details.

ByDesign Approved to Provide Bankruptcy Pre-Counseling Services
(posted 12/22/05)
ByDesign has been approved by the Executive Office for United States Trustees (EOUST) to provide pre-bankruptcy counseling to residents throughout California, as mandated in the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA).

Among key provisions of the legislation is a requirement, for the first time, that consumers must participate in credit counseling from an approved, non-profit credit counseling agency prior to filing for bankruptcy. In addition, consumers who have filed for bankruptcy must participate in a personal finance management program before their debts are discharged. BAPCPA took effect on Monday, October 17, 2005 at which time every new filer was required to speak with an approved credit counselor before filing.

"With offices in more than 22 counties in California, ByDesign can offer mandated bankruptcy counseling and education in person or over the phone," explains Lake. "Our services differ from those offered by national providers in that we provide in-person counseling and education to those who prefer such personalized attention." He continues, "Many consumers are upset about the tighter regulations now pertaining to bankruptcy, but these amendments will help those filing for bankruptcy to develop stronger money management skills, which will be beneficial in their future."

The certified counselors at ByDesign have developed several different service offerings to allow consumers to select the most convenient method to obtain the required bankruptcy certificates. For complete details on our Pre-Bankruptcy Counseling options, please click here.