Prudential Financial, Inc., (NYSE:PRU) today announced an agreement
between its Individual Life Insurance and Annuities businesses and the
dfree® Financial Freedom Movement to help local Indianans
through financial education to help protect their family’s financial
future. This independent community-based financial education program was
developed by Dr. DeForest B. Soaries, Jr., senior pastor of the First
Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, N.J., and creator and
founder of dfree.
The announcement, which was made during an event in downtown
Indianapolis earlier today, marks the launch of an initiative
that aims to educate and empower people to create a healthy financial
future for themselves and their loved ones through valuable advice from
and engagement with Prudential financial professionals.
“We’re delighted to work with the dfree team because we share a
commitment to help Americans better strengthen their personal finances,”
said Mark Hug, executive vice president, Product and Marketing,
Prudential Individual Life Insurance. “The knowledge we’ve gained about
approaching multicultural markets through our research, combined with
the efforts of Dr. Soaries’ program makes, will help deepen our
relationships in the communities we serve.”
Last year, Prudential announced the findings of its African
American Financial Experience survey, one in a series of studies
focused on the financial attitudes and behaviors of diverse markets.
According to the biennial report, the African American community remains
optimistic and continues to demonstrate financial progress, confidence
and growing affluence, despite mounting debt and little contact with the
financial services industry.
The dfree Financial Freedom Movement offers a training program designed
to help individuals improve their financial situation, such as becoming
debt-free and take more control of their money.
“The combination of Prudential’s longstanding commitment to diversity,
community and financial education coupled with dfree’s grass-roots
approach to challenging a culture of debt is poised to help more people
achieve financial piece of mind,” said Benjamin Robinson, Chief
Administration Officer, Prudential Annuities.
“Prudential’s commitment to the African American community complements
the work that dfree is doing as we continue to build upon the number of
churches and pastors that offer financial education to their members,”
said Dr. Soaries. “We are proud to work with Prudential and value the
strength it brings to the communities throughout the U.S.”
In addition to the Indianapolis location, the program will expanded in
the DC/Maryland and the New York/New Jersey areas in early 2015.
Prudential will also be a leading sponsor of the dfree® third Annual
Financial Freedom conference which takes place November 6-8, 2014 at
First Baptist of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, N.J.
dfree® is an independent program dedicated to providing financial
education and empowering participants to change their perspectives
related to money, alter behaviors and taking ownership of their
financial future. For more information, please visit www.mydfree.org
and www.billiondollarpaydown.com.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has
operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed to helping
individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth
through a variety of products and services, including life insurance,
annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment
management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol has stood for
strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century.
For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/.
dfree™ and Financial Freedom Movement™ are trademarks of the Corporate
Community Connections, Inc., which is not affiliated with The Prudential
Insurance Company of America or its affiliates, Newark, NJ. Each company
is solely responsible for its own financial condition, content,
liabilities and contractual obligations.
The Prudential Insurance Company of America Newark, NJ.
0267488-00001-00.
Copyright Business Wire 2014