CIMA is looking for Volunteers that what to make a difference. It’s an opportunity to get to know our community and the teens that will make up the future of tomorrow. Often many people say they don’t have time yet time is what most people can give if they knew how it would change the lives of one child. Picture yourself helping a young kid go to college. If you are a recent college grads, liberal arts majors, community college students–if you’re in college now or have a college degree, CIMA wants to talk to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_NBSPemVD8&feature=youtube_gdata

Ernie G
>www.ErnieG.com

May 20th 2010

Time 6:00 PM PST – 8:00 PM

MAOF and ListoAmerica
Community Technology Center

located at 2154 E Florence Ave,
Los Angeles, CA 90255

in the Alameda Shopping Center
on the Second Floor.

Join us in helping inner-city youth reach thier dreams.

For more information contact Alexandra Villanueva at avillanueva@domargroup.com

(714) 674-0391

“[When it comes to education], there has to be a focus on minority communities,” says Alma Morales Riojas, president of MANA, A National Latina Organization. “The demographics are clear. The trend will be that by 2033–if not sooner–one-fifth to one-third of the population will be Latino or Spanish-speaking and we have to invest in an educational system that gets as many kids [as possible] to graduate or continue their education.”

Latinos not only top dropout rates in general, but when you add “foreign-born” to their description, it’s even more likely they will not finish school. Nearly 25 percent of dropouts are foreign-born, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Once in the United States, they often take on the responsibility of contributing to the family income, which also causes a rift in their education.

“Most of our kids are working and going to school, helping with the family and doing volunteer work in the community,” Riojas says. “When you have a choice between survival, a roof over your head and food on the table, it’s a little bit hard, and one of the things that we try to communicate with our community is that you may think it’s a lot of money now, but when you add it up in your lifetime earnings, you’re going to really shortchange yourself and your family.”

So what needs to be done on the part of the government, teachers, parents and the Latino youth? Here are four suggestions on how we can strengthen our educational system to ensure kids from the fastest-growing traditionally underrepresented group are getting the education they need to succeed:

Bringing the message straight to the top

Riojas brought the Latino community’s concerns about education straight to the top, speaking at both the Democratic and Republican conventions this year.

“The bottom line for us is that individually, each of us has our own political preferences, but we wanted to ensure that as a coalition of Latino organizations and as Latino leaders, we were putting the agenda [that is] important to our community above party politics,” she says.

Riojas spoke about civil rights, immigration reform, economic empowerment and health, but she “wanted to make sure that education was at the very top” of the agenda.  

“[Latinos] are the only group who had an increase in both registration and in voting turnout for the last four presidential elections,” she says. “So we don’t want anybody to think that Latinos don’t understand that education is [in] a crisis and that we are all making that our top priority.”

Don’t put all the blame on the parents and kids

“You cannot continuously blame students and families,” Riojas says. The dearth of money for education programs is also to blame. In 2006, President Bush proposed shrinking federal spending on education by more than $3 billion. In addition, the largest source of federal education aid to states, the $12.7 billion Title I program for low-income students, would receive no new funding. Title I accounts for about half of federal spending to implement the 2002 federal No Child Left Behind bill, which aims to close achievement gaps and get all students to read and perform grade-level math by 2014.

“There is a whole lot more to the issue … than just whether they want to stay in school or not. I think most kids want to complete their education,” Riojas says. “Also, in terms of misinterpreting and saying that parents don’t care about education–that’s not true. I remember somebody gave me an expression that says, ‘If a man calls you an ass, you ignore them; if two of them call you an ass, you can still ignore that; but if three of them call you an ass, then you need to turn around and make sure you’re not wagging a tail.’ This is the idea of how many more generations of kids are we going to have dropping out before we admit that there is a problem.”

Make an investment in teachers

“You also need to invest in teachers who are good at teaching,” Riojas says. “I know the push is that they need to be certified, but I want to know, does that certification really also test whether that person is a good instructor? I love teaching, but not everybody can teach.”

There are approximately 6.2 million teachers in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Among them, 71 percent are women, and overall, only 5.5 percent of teachers are Latino.

“I cannot tell you how many kids have graduated with high honors and their English is terrible, their knowledge of history isn’t that good, and I’m thinking, ‘You have a ways to go,’” Riojas says. “There is a whole lot that needs to be done. Are the old testing requirements of what constitutes certification for teachers still satisfactory?”

Alternative school hours

For the many Latino kids who are forced to make the decision between work and school, Riojas suggests alternative school hours to accommodate the schedules of all kids and therefore diminish one reason for possible dropouts.

“For many, it becomes a question of whether they have to work to support the family and they can’t get jobs because jobs are at a time when school is taking place,” says Riojas. “What we need to look at is [if] we realistically have good scheduling for all schools. Shouldn’t we be able to have high schools that have classes that are in the evening so that kids who have to work in the daytime could still finish their education by going to night school?

“The idea that we’ve got these huge buildings that are closed all summer–they are closed after 4 p.m. in the afternoon. It’s wasted space. There are plenty of professionals out there that we could look at to help in order to make sure that we are having kids complete their education. But [looking at] their current system, the scheduling, is it appropriate for the newer population, and does it help in terms of the minority population?”

The dropout rates for foreign-born kids from countries all over the world are also high. For example, recent arrivals to the United States from China who did not make adequate school progress in China have a dropout rate greater than 30 percent in this country.

Riojas concludes, “We really need to get teachers, administrators and families together with corporate America and with the government because it really needs to be a team effort.”

For More information on how you can help comtact CIMA Inc at 714-674-0391 or info@cimainc.org

They said obese people spend 40 percent more _ or $1,429 more per year _ in healthcare costs than people of normal weight.

“It is critical that we take effective steps to contain and reduce the enormous burden of obesity on our nation,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news conference at a CDC obesity meeting where the study was presented.

“Reversing obesity is not going to be done successfully with individual effort,” Frieden said. “It will be done successfully as a society.”

The CDC outlined 24 new recommendations on how communities can combat obesity in their neighborhoods and schools by encouraging healthier eating and more exercise.

Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee and chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Foresty, said the report underscores why prevention and wellness efforts must be part of any plan to reform the U.S. health system.

“Report after report shows that if we fail to take meaningful steps now on prevention of chronic disease like obesity, healthcare costs will continue to spiral out of control,” Harkin said in a statement.

26 PERCENT OBESITY RATE IN U.S.

More than 26 percent of Americans are obese, which means they have a body mass index of 30 or higher. BMI is equal to weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. A person 5 feet 5 inches tall becomes obese at 180 pounds (82 kg).

For the study, Eric Finkelstein of the non-profit RTI International and researchers at the CDC and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality analyzed medical cost data from 1998 and 2006.

They found U.S. obesity rates rose 37 percent between 1998 and 2006, driving an 89 percent increase in spending on treatments for obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

Obesity now accounts for 9.1 percent of all medical spending in the United States, up from 6.5 percent in 1998.

“What we found was the total cost of obesity increased from $74 billion to maybe as high as $147 billion today, so roughly double over that time period,” said Finkelstein, whose study also was published in the journal Health Affairs.

An obese Medicare beneficiary spends $600 more a year on drug costs than a Medicare patient of healthy weight.

The CDC’s new obesity prevention strategies aim to address issues such as a lack of access to healthy food in poor neighborhoods and sedentary lifestyles that contribute to America’s obesity epidemic.

Frieden said soda and sugar-sweetened beverages “play a particular role in the obesity epidemic,” noting that Americans consume an extra 150 calories more per day in sugar-sweetened beverages than two to three decades ago.

He said adding a tax to soft drinks might curb consumption but that was not a position held by the Obama administration.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and Bill Trott)

Over the past several months we have received an overwhelming response regarding Credit card Debt.

If you are a small business, our consumer you are not alone. I hope this article will provide you with information that will aid in your help. Please write us if you have any concerns or questions. We are here to help.  

Sincerely

Don Martinez

Chairman Founder & CEO

CIMA Inc.

Today, credit card debt in the United States has reached a record high of nearly $1 trillion. Almost half of American families currently carry a credit card balance that is, on average, $7,300. One out of every five people carrying credit card debt pays an interest rate above 20 percent. In 2008 alone, credit-card companies imposed penalty fees of $19 billion on families with balances, which accounted for nearly half of their $40.7 billion profits. These often hidden fees have risen by more than 50% since 2003.

Burdened by credit card practices like these and others that the U.S. Federal Reserve has called “unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive”, many working families feel powerless to keep their financial heads above water. What have been missing are common sense protections that would hold credit card companies accountable for their abuses, which have only deepened the economic crisis in this country.

The good news is that, after years of being blocked by special interests and Wall Street banks, there is a new law on the books that will put an end to credit card practices that have unfairly gouged individuals and families. The Credit Cardholder Bill of Rights, supported by large bipartisan majorities in Congress, and recently signed into law by the President, is one of the most significant consumer protection laws enacted in over a decade, and I am proud to have supported it. While this new law will put in place important protections to prevent credit card companies from unfairly taking advantage of working families, it is vital that consumers exercise personal responsibility, and pay their bills on time to avoid getting over extended with debt.

There are several ways that the Credit Cardholder Bill of Rights will benefit responsible credit cardholders. Importantly, it will block credit card companies from retroactively increasing the interest rates on customers’ existing balances unless the borrower is at least 60 days late paying a bill. Also, if a cardholder is 60 days late, but makes payments on time for 6 months, then the original interest rate must be reinstated. Credit card companies must now give 45 days notice on all interest rate increases, so consumers can pay off their balances or shop for a better deal. To protect consumers from due date gimmicks, the new law will require credit card companies to mail bills 21 days before the due date. Gone is the practice of charging interest on already repaid debt, which unfairly penalizes those who responsibly pay their bills. Also significant is the requirement that payments first be applied to the credit card balance with the highest rate of interest, which helps consumers pay off debt faster.

To help keep minors out of excessive debt, those under the age of 21 must have a parent or guardian co-sign their application, or provide proof that they can afford a credit card on their own. Promotional rates offered to woo new customers must last at minimum 6 months, and rate hikes are no longer allowed in the first 12 months after a new account is opened. Finally, it requires that credit card agreements be written in a readable font to put an end to terms hidden in fine print. The 45-day requirement to notify cardholders of interest rate increases and the requirement to bill consumers 21 days in advance will become effective by September. The remaining provisions of the law will take effect in February of 2010.

In this time of economic uncertainty, families can feel confident that important progress is being made with this new law that will make a positive difference in their everyday lives. Going forward, Congress and the Administration should work together to enact other important reforms not included in this legislation such as limiting exorbitant interest rates that can be charged to cardholders, but let there be no doubt that the Credit Cardholder Bill of Rights finally begins to level the playing field for consumers.

Prevents Unfair Increases in Interest Rates and Changes in Terms

• Prohibits arbitrary interest rate increases and universal default on existing balances;
• Requires a credit card issuer who increases a cardholder’s interest rate to periodically review and decrease the rate if indicated by the review;
• Prohibits credit card issuers from increasing rates on a cardholder in the first year after a credit card account is opened;
• Requires promotional rates to last at least 6 months.

Prohibits Exorbitant and Unnecessary Fees

• Prohibits issuers from charging a fee to pay a credit card debt, whether by mail, telephone, or electronic transfer, except for live services to make expedited payments;
• Prohibits issuers from charging over-limit fees unless the cardholder elects to allow the issuer to complete over-limit transactions, and also limits over?limit fees on electing cardholders;
• Requires penalty fees to be reasonable and proportional to the omission or violation;
• Enhances protections against excessive fees on low-credit, high-fee credit cards.

Requires Fairness in Application and Timing of Card Payments

• Requires payments in excess of the minimum to be applied first to the credit card balance with the highest rate of interest;
• Prohibits issuers from setting early morning deadlines for credit card payments;
• Requires credit card statements to be mailed 21 days before the bill is due rather than the current 14.

Protects the Rights of Financially Responsible Credit Card Users

• Prohibits interest charges on debt paid on time (double-cycle billing ban);
• Prohibits late fees if the card issuer delayed crediting the payment;
• Requires that payment at local branches be credited same-day;
• Requires credit card companies to consider a consumer’s ability to pay when issuing credit cards or increasing credit limits.

Provides Enhanced Disclosures of Card Terms and Conditions

• Requires cardholders to be given 45 days notice of interest rate, fee and finance charge increases;
• Requires issuers to provide disclosures to consumers upon card renewal when the card terms have changed;
• Requires issuers to provide individual consumer account information and to disclose the period of time and total interest it will take to pay off the card balance if only minimum monthly payments are made;
• Requires full disclosure in billing statements of payment due dates and applicable late payment penalties.

Strengthens Oversight of Credit Card Industry Practices

• Requires each credit card issuer to post its credit card agreements on the Internet, and provide those agreements to the Federal Reserve Board to post on its website;
• Requires the Federal Reserve Board to review the consumer credit card market, including the terms of credit card agreements and the practices of credit card issuers and the cost and availability of credit to consumers;
• Requires Federal Trade Commission rulemaking to prevent deceptive marketing of free credit reports.

Ensures Adequate Safeguards for Young People

• Requires issuers extending credit to young consumers under the age of 21 to obtain an application that contains: the signature of a parent, guardian, or other individual 21 years or older who will take responsibility for the debt; or proof that the applicant has an independent means of repaying any credit extended;
• Limits prescreened offers of credit to young consumers;
• Prohibits increases in the credit limit on accounts where a parent, legal guardian, spouse or other individual is jointly liable unless the individual who is jointly liable approves the increase;
• Increases protections for students against aggressive credit card marketing, and increases transparency of affinity arrangements between credit card companies and universities.

Enhanced Penalties

• Increases existing penalties for companies that violate the Truth in Lending Act for credit card customers.

Gift Card Protections

• Protects recipients of gift cards by requiring all gift cards to have at least a five-year life span, and eliminates the practice of declining values and hidden fees for those cards not used within a reasonable period of time.

Encourages Transparency in Credit Card Pricing

• Requires the GAO to study the impact of interchange fees on consumers and merchants, specifically their disclosure, pricing, fee and cost structure.

Protects Small Businesses

• Requires the Federal Reserve to study the use of credit cards by small businesses and make recommendations for administrative and legislative proposals;
• Establishes Small Business Information Security Task Force to address the information technology security needs of small businesses and help prevent the loss of credit card data.

Promotes Financial Literacy

• Requires comprehensive summary of existing financial literacy programs and development of strategic plan to improve financial literacy education.

If you are interested in learn more about our financial literacy programs please contact our program offer.

714-674-0391 info@cimainc.org

https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/

Relationship helps us to define who we are and what we can become.

Most of us can trace our success to a pivotal relationship

Message from the Chairman of the Board

Dear Friends,
We are proud to introduce the launching of Core Institute for Motivational Advancement. It’s an honor for me to begin a journey that has become a passion and commitments to provide this unique opportunity to give back to the children, youth and our community. As an Entrepreneur I have dedicated my life to speaking to professionals in corporate America, non-profit organizations, universities, women organizations, and chamber of commerce’s. For the past eight years I have spent a great amount of my spare time speaking to schools in East Los Angeles, Huntington Park, Bell, Lynwood, South gate, Montebello, Santa Ana, Anaheim and many more..

While growing up in Los Angeles I would always find myself thinking about the future someday I would. One of the challenges I was faced with was that I grow up without a Mentor. The importance of a mentor is someone that can help define who you are and what we can become. Most of us can trace our success to a pivotal relationship someone that made a difference in their life. For me it was my inner being and mental toughness to never settle for less and to always push and reach as far as I could.

My message to all is to “Reach for the Stars”

Mentoring is the process of investing in another person by doing things for that person’s own good without consideration of self-reward. Ultimately, it is the sum of our responses to another human being our lives become richer.

It is my true-life purpose and mission to help children/youth/adults and their families live to their fullest potential and live the dream that we all strive to accomplish.

Don Martinez
Chairman of the Board

Core Institute for Motivational Advancement

(“Inspiring Excellence”)

Individual Wealth Account

CIMA’S Asset Development Program helps low-income households permanently escape poverty by building assets through home ownership, savings, higher education, and financial Literacy.

This initiative currently includes an Individual Wealth Account (IWA,) a program focused on the foundation of wealth and saving accounts to help low-income workers save for and purchase a home. CIMA will be offering a workshop with a maximum of thirty people at one time for an extensive workshop on how to build wealth. Interested in learning how to build wealth will give you the tool to live a more balanced life and a path to the American Dream.

CIMA Asset Development has also developed an agency-wide approach to Financial Literacy Education for consumers of CIMA services. Along with IWAs, the program will include teaching on Life Long Learning Accounts, (LiLAs,) the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program, and access to credit counseling, foreclosure prevention counseling, first-time homebuyers, investment savings, and other specialized programs.

1) Basics of Checking/Savings/Stock Introduction
2) What Are Stocks?
3) Different Types Of Stocks
4) How Stocks Trade
5) What Causes Stock Prices To Change?
6) How To Read A Stock Table/Quote (SSG/Annual Reports, Value Line)
A: The Analyst’s Commentary
B: Financial Estimates
C: Historical Financial Data
D: Annual Rates (Of Change)
E: Target Price Range
F: Projections (Of 3-to-5-year stock prices)
G: Price/Earnings Ratios
7) How To; Buying Stocks
How To; Selling
9) Small Cap, Mid Cap, And Large Cap
10) Managing Your Portfolio

For additional information on CIMA’s Asset Development Program, please contact:
Don Martinez :dmartin@cimainc.org”

Are you a Bank, Financial Services organization? We are seeking sponsorship for our Financial Literacy program please contact Don Martinez for details dmartin@domargroup.com

CIMA’s Security Insurance Program:
Auto, health, and wealth for the community and their families.
This program teaches high school students the importance of all areas of insurance. One of the most neglected and forgotten issues are insurance, whether it be auto, health, life, or business. We recognize that by educating our students we can help bring this message home to assist parents in making the investment for themselves and their families. Our programs, administered by professionals, allow you to learn from the best in the industry. With customized programs and workshops, we believe this can all be accomplished for the good of the community. Loaded with great information, supplemental materials, and even handbooks, this program will allow you to educate your students about insurance and risk in a manner that is fun, engaging, and relative to their everyday lives. Our partners will work with students and families in a classroom setting that will allow them to feel comfortable.

Are you an Insurance company, Broker Agent organization? We are seeking sponsorship for our Security Insurance Program please contact Don Martinez for details dmartin@domargroup.com