Take the Student Debt Challenge

Repaying student loans is hard. Really hard. More than eight million of us are defaulting on our student loans. And it’s not because we’re lazy, it’s because we’re not getting the information we need. Monday, April 25th is the fourth anniversary of student debt hitting $1 trillion. It’s time for us to take action on behalf of our fellow borrowers.

That’s why we’re partnering with the White House and community organizations to bridge the information gap with the Student Debt Challenge. The Challenge is an effort to spread the word about federal programs that could help you lower your student loan payments or even have part of your loans forgiven—for free. Not enough student loan borrowers know about the benefits of programs like income-driven repayment programs or public service loan forgiveness. That’s why we are asking employers, schools, and organizations to take the student debt challenge and make sure all of their employees and members know about these great programs. And we need your help!

Ask your employer, school, and legislators to take the Student Debt Challenge. They provide the forum, we provide the information. It’s easy!

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

• Take the Student Debt Challenge or ask your employer, schools, or organization to take the Challenge. Find a PDF of this blog post here: Student Debt Challenge Toolkit.
  » If you’re still in school, consider asking your college administrators, student government, campus career center, or professional Greek organizations.

» If you’re no longer in school, consider speaking with the human resources department of your organization, local union representatives, professional groups, alumni organizations, local elected officials (state representatives, city councilmember, etc.), or local businesses.

• Ask your organization to host an informational event for employees or host a small session with friends and coworkers. Reserve a common space in your office to introduce these programs and their benefits.
• Use our resources to help guide the conversation—a full presentation is available!

• Share resources in a common area of your office to inform coworkers about the plans.

» Consider joining up with another upcoming event at your office (human resources fair, happy hour, staff meeting, etc). Add a time to present these programs to the schedule or pass out resources at the event.

• Share this information online on your personal social media accounts or organizational listservs. Use the sample social media below to spread the word!
• Write an op-ed or letter to the editor in your local newspaper about the importance of these programs.

SPREAD THE WORD

Have questions? Contact hello@higherednotdebt.org.