In an effort to give students and residents the tools they need to combat the turbulent economic times, Prince George’s Community College in collaboration with Citi Bank’s charitable arm, Citi Foundation, have created a Community Financial Center.
Slated to open in February, the center was made possible through a $40,000 donation from Citi Foundation, and will offer a broad based financial literacy program. Titled “Finance 411,” the program will address a range of issues, such as how to avoid bankruptcy or foreclosure, and will feature PGCC courses in business and accounting.
“Finance 411 will be a tremendous opportunity for students to engage in practical learning experiences that will expand classroom knowledge to real life financial decisions and issues,” said John Rosicky, dean of behavioral, social and business studies in a recent statement. “Students will hear from experts in the field of finance and have opportunities to apply their knowledge through service learning in the community.”
PGCC said the $40,000 from Citi Foundation will be used to plan a series of free informational forums and workshops.
“With the help of the Citi Foundation and other community partners, Prince George’s Community College will present relevant and timely information to the community,” said Brenda Mitchell, director of development in a recent statement. “Finance 411 is designed to empower students and community residents of varied ages and backgrounds on making informed and enlightened financial decisions.”
Topics covered under the Finance 411 program include building assets, researching financial aid for college, managing finances during the recession, troubleshooting for potential home mortgage scams, and avoiding foreclosure.
PGCC said the financial center’s programs and activities will be free and open to the public.
For more information on the financial center call 301-583-5295.
--PGS Staff
Just in time to ward off the next bug that will leave us sneezing, achy, flat on our backs with fever and chills, researchers at the University of Maryland have cooked up an influenza vaccine that works in animals they may hold promising results for humans.
Daniel R. Pérez, PhD Photo: newsdesk.umd.edu
The university’s efforts are led by Daniel R. Pérez, an associate professor and virologist. A recent statement said the team has developed a vaccine that can be used to protect both birds and mammals from dangerous forms of the flu, including the highly lethal H5N1 avian influenza strain.
“We now have a vaccine that works in many animal species and can protect against any type of influenza that we want,” said Pérez, who conducts his research at the College Park campus of the Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.
The university said the new vaccine component may make it easier to create a human vaccine capable of protecting humans against lethal avian bird flu strains. Also, it can be used to vaccinate wild and domestic birds or other species. This would reduce the spread of flu viruses among these animals and decrease the chance that deadly new human flu strains will develop.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, another strain of the bird flu virus could mutate and become easily transmissible between humans, causing another pandemic. But it’s unclear which influenza strain will impact us. The H5N1 avian flu virus recently caused an influenza pandemic in wild and domestic birds throughout Asia, Europe and African nations.
“In case of pandemic influenza, we will need a vaccine, but we cannot tell ahead of time what the virus is going to look like,” Perez said. “We may prepare a vaccine before the pandemic occurs, but we don’t know if that vaccine is going to be good enough.”
--PGS Staff
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