Optimum Launches the “Less Talk, More Action Empowerment Tour”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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For Information Contact:

Joy Farrington, Administrative Assistant to Ryan Mack

The Optimum Institute of Economic Empowerment, Inc.

305-989-0848

info@optimuminsitute.org 

 

Optimum Launches the “Less Talk…More Action” Economic Empowerment Tour Sponsored by George Soros Open Society Institute

 

On October 27^th, 2011 in direct response to economic hardships faced by the Black and Hispanic communities as a result of a lagging economy, The Optimum Institute of Economic Empowerment (“OIEE”) will launch its economic empowerment tour entitled “Less Talk…More Action”.  While going through as many as 13 cities with the possibility of adding more, Ryan Mack (President of OIEE, Author, and National Media Commentator) has galvanized a dynamic team of world renowned experts to create tangible solutions to multifaceted economic hardships that continue to plague minority communities.   

 

The “Less Talk…More Action” Economic Empowerment Tour (“LTMA”), sponsored by the George Soros Open Society Institute, focuses on using financial literacy as a primary tool of empowerment for the Black community. However, LTMA has expanded the traditional definition of financial literacy to also include unemployment, incarceration, and education in the Black community. Credit repair, planning for retirement, budgeting, and other crucial/traditional measures of financial literacy all need to have a stronger presence if African Americans are to advance economically. However, high incarceration rates, low educational performance, and high unemployment rates are also severe problems of the Black community which continue to plague our bottom line.

 

Ryan Mack stated about the tour, “I grew weary talking about the problems in our communities. You hear forum after forum only discussing the stats of why we got here and complaints about what the President or the Government is not doing. LTMA tour isn’t about what any person is not doing us; it’s about what Black and Hispanic communities can do for ourselves.  No more paralysis of analysis…no more fancy sounding, empty rhetoric…no more ambiguous blanket statements which lack substance that are only meant to make people clap but leave them clueless as to the next tangible step to take. It is time for less talk and more action!”

 

The “Ambassadors of Action” joining the tour are as follows:

 

Ambassador of Financial Literacy – Manyell Akinfe, SVP of Optimum Capital Management, Creator of the Money Movement, and National Financial Commentator

 

Ambassador of Justice – Dr. Boyce Watkins, PHD in Finance, Financial Expert, Social Commentator, and Author

 

Ambassador of Employment – Andrew Morrison, Founder of Small Business Camp, Direct Marketing Consultant and Author

 

Ambassador of Education – Dr. Chris Emdin, PHD in Urban Education, Director of Secondary School Initiatives for Urban Science Education Center at Columbia University, and Author

 

Some of the tangible solutions to result from this tour are as follows:

 

• Financial literacy workshops taught to hundreds of minorities in prisons, shelters, public housing residents, churches, unions, youth programs, and more through every city.
• Town hall meetings which focus on highlighting the local experts doing the work on the ground in each city in the areas of financial literacy, education, employment, and incarceration.
• 100 Black and Hispanic owned video testimonies on the “Less Talk…More Action”  site (www.lesstalkmoreaction.info) which will serve the purpose of highlighting businesses in the community worthy of support.
• A “Train the Trainer” program which recruits at least 10 trainers in every city to use the curriculum to train others and ignite a movement of financial literacy discussions.
• A “Money Movement” (www.moneymovement.org) geared to merge financial literacy with popular culture while recruiting 1000s of urban residents in every city to take the “pledge” to be fiscally responsible.
• A book “Never Going Back” which uses testimonies of experts from across the country to empower incarcerated and formerly incarcerated with the tools they need to integrate back into society.
• A book “From Victim to Victory” which galvanizes Black financial experts from across the country to provide a tangible economic road map towards creating the next phase of the civil rights movement to be fought on an economic front.
• A book “Dollars and Sense” filled with testimonies of educators across the country that have all achieved academic success despite harsh environments of the inner city neighborhoods. The purpose of this book will be to provide a tangible demonstration of best practices for other educators to follow as a model as well as inspire others to infuse financial literacy into their curriculum. 

 

About The Optimum Institute of Economic Empowerment

 

OIEE has a mission to create and implement tangible economic empowerment programs. As a change agent OIEE will develop and administer programs that will focus on teaching and increasing exposure to principles of financial literacy within communities of need.  Working individually and also in collaboration with other community constituents, OIEE believes that individuals, businesses and communities can be educated to understand and adhere to those financial principles which will serve as a solid foundation for future economic growth and sustainability.