As Country Wrestles with Spending Cuts, Hill Harper Encourages Responsible Personal Financial Management

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Feb. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Even as our nation faces tough budget cuts and families struggle to balance their own budgets, Hill Harper, actor and author, joins forces with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Mike Conley and Quincy Pondexter of the Memphis Grizzlies (Grizzlies) and Memphis City Schools (MCS) to provide key financial education to 3,500 eighth-grade students across the city.

MassMutual and the Grizzlies have enlisted the help of one of the most well respected public figures in the African-American community, Hill Harper, to close out the significant celebrations of Black History Month. Harper, who currently stars in the hit television drama CSI: NY, is a passionate advocate for youth and the empowerment that financial education can bring them. Harper is a firm believer in the transformative power of education, graduating magna cum laude from Brown University and earning a J.D. and a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University.

"I'm so excited to share my work to cultivate financial literacy with the youth of Memphis," said Harper. "This collaboration with MassMutual and the Memphis Grizzlies players allows me to extend my mission to help young people understand that they don't have to use money as an excuse for not living the best version of their lives."

"Professional athletes often are portrayed as being big spenders during our careers," said Mike Conley, point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies. "Quincy and I are excited to be part of this Financial Literacy Forum with Hill Harper to show that professional athletes realize the importance of starting from a young age to learn about financial responsibility. Many of us are working hard to reach our financial goals for retirement."