Former President Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote speech at what organizers are billing as the “World’s Largest Financial Literacy Education Event” today at Galen Center.
Organizers expect more than 7,000 boys and girls ages 10 to 15 from at-risk communities to attend. The event is designed to inspire students to reach their goals in life and to teach the importance of financial literacy skills.
Officials from Guinness World Records will be present to certify the record, according to organizers.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is also scheduled to speak at the event, which is presented by Banc of California.
“Having an understanding of basic financial concepts such as how to balance a checkbook can make a tangible difference in a young person’s ability to succeed,” said Villaraigosa, now a strategic adviser to Banc of California Chief Executive Officer Steven Sugarman. “Financial literacy needs to be as fundamental as reading, writing and arithmetic.”
Meanwhile, Clinton will receive the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz’s Maria Fisher Founder’s Award at the All-Star Gala Concert tonight at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The award honors an individual who has made major contributions to the perpetuation of jazz music and the expansion of jazz and music education in schools around the world.
The first “In Performance at the White House” event during Clinton’s presidency was an evening of jazz on the South Lawn that was televised by the Public Broadcasting Service. Clinton showcased jazz at the White House on numerous other occasions during his presidency and at the 1994 Summit of the Americas in Miami.
Clinton will deliver the inaugural address in the Los Angeles World Affairs Council’s new series, “America’s Role in the World” at a sold-out luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Monday.
