COLUMBIA, S.C. - The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) encourages South Carolina educators and students to register now for the 2019-2020 season of LifeSmarts, a program of the National Consumers League (NCL). This national scholarship competition and free educational program tests middle-school and high-school students' knowledge of real-life consumer issues.

LifeSmarts is designed to supplement classroom curriculum or be used as a learning activity in clubs and organizations outside the classroom. Players and teams may come from schools, families, 4H, FCCLA, neighborhoods, workplaces, community centers, youth groups such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, home schools, and any other similar source.

LifeSmarts focuses on five main content areas: consumer rights and responsibilities, personal finance, technology, health and safety, and the environment. Students are quizzed on their knowledge of these subject areas during online competition. The top teams advance to a statewide competition with the winner advancing to the national championship taking place in the Washington, DC area April 25-28, 2020. Winning team members can receive scholarships and many other prizes/opportunities. A small travel stipend for the winning team will be available.

“SCDCA has been the South Carolina state LifeSmarts coordinator since 2002 and is proud to both help equip students with the tools they need to be smart consumers in the marketplace and provide teachers with this innovative consumer-based curriculum,”said SCDCA Administrator Carri Grube Lybarker.  If you are interested in learning  more about LifeSmarts, visit SCDCA's website or call (803) 734-0043.

About SCDCA

The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs aims to protect consumers from inequities in the marketplace through advocacy, complaint mediation, enforcement and education. To file a complaint or get information on consumer issues, visit www.consumer.sc.gov or call toll-free, 1 (800) 922-1594.