This Weekend in Atlanta: Inman Park Festival, Steeplechase

Atlanta is being blessed with some extremely warm weather this weekend - 85 and sunny in April. Take advantage of the first glimpse of summer at one of the following fun, outdoor activities this weekend. Don't forget the sunscreen!

* Inman Park Festival: Just a few miles east of Downtown is Inman Park, Atlanta's first suburb. With picturesque, Victorian homes and shady streets, Inman Park prides itself on being a small down in the middle of downtown. The annual festival features art vendors, musical performances and the quirkiest parade you'll ever see. The festival starts at 11 a.m., but don't miss the 2 p.m. parade along Euclid. Marta is recommended.
* Atlanta Steeplechase: Steeplechase is Atlanta's version of the Derby, complete with horse races, terrier races and a hat contest. Steeplechase is held at Kingston Downs, approximately 60 miles north of Atlanta. Tickets are available in a variety of pricing packages, but general admission is only $30.

Innovative KAPFCU is Recognized for "Making a Difference" in the Lives of Children and Youth Credit Union Membership Ages 18 to 24

Kappa Alpha Psi Federal Credit Union (KAPFCU), the country's first "virtual credit union", was recently awarded a $500 Making a Difference grant from the Texas Credit Union Foundation (TCUF) to provide financial literacy and credit counseling to youth in Plano, Texas. The credit union movement is stagnating with aging baby boomers. Recent, NCUA statistics indicate that the average age of credit union members is currently 55+. In contrast, the median membership age of KAPFCU is 18-24. The use of internet technology, a national fraternal base and efforts to increase our field of membership to include Historically Black Colleges and Universities are all reasons KAPFCU has been abel to defy the trends and invigorate financial literacy and education with high school students and college youth.

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) April 24, 2009 -- Kappa Alpha Psi Federal Credit Union (KAPFCU), the country's first "virtual credit union", was recently awarded a $500 Making a Difference grant from the Texas Credit Union Foundation (TCUF). The grant will be used to provide financial literacy and credit counseling to youth in Plano and Richardson, Texas. KAPFCU is certified by the Department of Treasury as a community development financial intuition (CDFI) and a NCUA designated low income credit union (LICU) based in Dallas, Texas. TCUF is a non-profit organization dedicated to progressive professional development of credit union staff and volunteers, financial education programs for youth and adults, and creating valuable resources for Texas credit unions and the communities they serve.

The Make A Difference campaign promotes, celebrates and encourages financial education efforts among credit unions and their communities throughout Texas. "We know the credit union philosophy is what brings the 'credit union difference' to life. We also know that having financial knowledge and tools can make a difference for families, especially in these challenging financial times. We created the Make The Difference campaign to further strengthen financial education efforts by Texas credit unions," said TCUF Executive Director, Jill Pharr.

We know the credit union philosophy is what brings the 'credit union difference' to life. We also know that having financial knowledge and tools can make a difference for families, especially in these challenging financial times. We created the Make The Difference campaign to further strengthen financial education efforts by Texas credit unions

While we can't change the world with a $500, this is the first step on the long road to creating intergenerational wealth. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. This grant from the Texas Credit Union League represents the first time that KAPFCU has received any type of financial support from the credit union industry

On September 7, 2007 - Dwayne M. Murray, Esq. Grand Polemarch, CEO of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. announced that Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. has partnered with the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees (NABT) and several United States Bankruptcy Courts to actively promote CARE and GLAD

"While we can't change the world with a $500, this is the first step on the long road to creating intergenerational wealth. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. This grant from the Texas Credit Union League represents the first time that KAPFCU has received any type of financial support from the credit union industry," said KAPFCU Chairman/President, Victor Russell.

"As a virtual institution, we've been an ugly duckling for nearly four years. Our balance sheet and profit/loss profile differs from most community based credit unions. We don't have a physical office, we operate through a 20 member advisory board and management team. KAPFCU provides service to the entire country - instead of a local geographic market. We just don't look like the typical low income or community development credit union. Consequently, it has been very difficult for us to successfully receive financial support from credit union or philanthropic communities," extols Michael McCray, KAPFCU Administrator of Community Development Financial Initiatives.

The TCUF grant will support the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) project which teaches high school students financial literacy and how to avoid debt. KAPFCU also supports Greeks Learning to Avoid Debt (GLAD) project which provides similar financial training and debt avoidance to undergraduate college students. According to Nellie Mae, a leader in college loan counseling, the average college student carries more than $2,000 in credit card debt and more than ten percent have more than $7,000 in debt, which nearly doubles when students only pay minimum balances because of high interests.

"On September 7, 2007 - Dwayne M. Murray, Esq. Grand Polemarch, CEO of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. announced that Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. has partnered with the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees (NABT) and several United States Bankruptcy Courts to actively promote CARE and GLAD," explains Kevin Burnett, KAPFCU Board of Directors.

The credit union movement is stagnating with ageing baby boomers. Recent, NCUA statistics indicate that the average age of credit union members is currently 55+. In contrast, the median membership age of KAPFCU is 18-24. Efforts to increase our field of membership to include historically Black colleges and Universities, use of internet technology and a national fraternal base are all reasons KAPFCU has been able to defy the trends and invigorate financial literacy and education with high school students and college youth.

Polamalu, Larry Fitzgerald on Madden video game cover

Super Bowl combatants Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald face off helmet-to-helmet for "Madden NFL 10," the first time in the franchise's 21-year history that two players adorn the cover.

EA Sports' latest edition of the best-selling sports video game ever, with more than 65 million sold, won't be on store shelves until Aug. 14, but the announcement of the coverboys always arrives with fanfare -- and renews the lore of The Madden Curse.

There are sites and forums and blogs throughout the sports and gaming Webverse devoted to the "curse," that, like the Sports Illustrated cover jinx, can spell doom in the form of an injury or a career downturn.

"We're absolutely aware of it," said Rob Semsey. The senior public relations manager for EA Sports was talking by phone from New York, where Mr. Fitzgerald was meeting some members of the press and being bombarded with questions about the curse. Mr. Semsey is a Uniontown native and was excited about the players' Pittsburgh connections, with Mr. Polamalu representing the Steelers on defense and Mr. Fitzgerald, of Pitt and the Arizona Cardinals, representing his offensive foe for the game's main theme, "Fight for Every Yard."

Mr. Fitzgerald, who also appeared on the cover of the "NCAA Football 2005" game as a Pitt All-American, did not appear to be worried about his Madden cover appearance. "He said what an honor it is and the fact that he gets to share it with Troy is fantastic," Mr. Sempsey said.

Hungry Girl Recipes Bring Lisa Lillien To National Spotlight

The Washington Post ran a happy, chirpy story today about Hungry Girl. Who is Hungry Girl, you ask? Her name is Lisa Lillien; she's the doyenne of how to create fabulous low-calorie snacks from corporate food-like substances. I kid you not.

Lisa Lillien has written a "cookbook" about how to blend all this fake food into yummy, diabetes-courting combinations. Sadly, the Hungry Girl has made a small fortune from said cookbook; as of this morning it's #15 on Amazon.

Here's a taste of Lisa Lillien's unfathomable food wisdom, from the Washington Post article: "Lillien knows she has critics out there. "People are hypocrites," she says. "They say 'shop the perimeter of the store, never eat anything that's not organic,' but it's B.S., because people can't live like that forever."

What have we come to? Just four generations ago, 75% of Americans lived on farms. By default, all food was local and organic and seasonal. 80 years ago, only the elite could eat out-of-season food from far away- it was prohibitively expensive for ordinary folks to eat, say, oranges in August. That out-of-season orange was the ultimate display of food elitism. Now, food elitism is eating organic, in-season food, and cooking it yourself. It's come to this: eating real food is elitist. Real food, that we humans have adapted to over millennia. We are not adapted to HFCS and hydrogenation and aspartame and preservatives. We're not even adapted to out-of-season foods; it's one of the many reasons we're fat. Avoiding the "modern" diet is not elitism, it's just evolutionary. It's listening to the wisdom of the seasons and culture and human history.

But she'll soon discover the best low-calorie diet of all; it's called the peak oil diet. It's the diet where you're hungry all the time because the supermarkets are empty and you don't know how to grow your own food, or store it, or cook it. Hungry Girl is sure to love it- she'll be skinny as a rail.