Fort Valley State University News April 13, 2011 Education aims to protect, inform consumers Consumers are reevaluating the way they spend money as gas prices rise, food costs soar and Georgia's jobless rate shows little improvement at 10.2 percent. To inform and educate Middle Georgia residents about how to manage their resources and avoid scams in a sluggish economy, Consumer Education Day was held at Fort Valley State University. More than 125 participants attended breakout sessions that covered topics such as budgeting, investing, cutting the grocery bill by planning inexpensive meals and identity theft. "The agencies represented today provided information that helps protect consumers during harsh economic times and protects consumers from scams," said Vivian Fluellen, FVSU's interim program leader for family and consumer sciences and the event's planning committee chair. After attending a few sessions Shamera McCrary, a junior infant and childhood development student at FVSU, said she learned how to manage her resources better. "People throw away money all the time. I want to start saving. I can if I limit some of my shopping and cook more," McCrary said. The variety of issues covered won the attention of Janet Valente, public service associate for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Program. "Everything from consumer issues and things like identity theft were discussed today. I even learned about organic gardening," Valente said. Luncheon speakers John Sours, administrator for the Governor's Office of Consumer Protection in Georgia (GOCP), and Cathy Mendelsohn, communications and marketing specialist for the GOCP, warned the audience about the latest scams: online job scams, fake check scams and home repair fraud. "Many people are unemployed or underemployed and are vulnerable to scams that promise to help them make money quick. Education is the best defense. Overall, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is," Sours said. "This information reinforced some of my skepticism about Internet scams," said Dr. Mark Latimore Jr., FVSU interim assistant vice president for land-grant affairs. "Having these speakers share [information] provides us with contacts that can help if we or someone we know becomes a victim of a scam." SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org www.hbculibraries.org 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org Honor the ancestors, honor the children.