Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment Set for September 17, 2005

Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment Set for September 17, 2005

Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Xzibit, Bone Thugs 'n' Harmony, Warren G, Mike Concepcion and Others to Participate

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network's 2005 Financial Empowerment National Tour is set to land in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 17, 2005 at the Wiltern Theater, located at 3790 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. The Summit is open to the public and free vouchers to attend are available by going onto http://www.hsan.org/ . Participants in the Los Angeles Summit include Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of HSAN, Chrysler Financial Vice President William F. Jones, Jr., hip-hop stars Xzibit, Bone Thugs 'n' Harmony and Warren G, Mike Concepcion, CEO of Grand Jury Productions, Inc, Platform Learning's Regional Manager Eli Kennedy and Chrysler Financial's James Whitlow and Gerrod Parchmon. Dr. Chavis will be moderating and Mike Concepcion will be co- hosting the Los Angeles Summit.

The evolution of hip-hop in Los Angeles is cause for special celebration and recognition. The talent and genius of West Coast hip-hop will be saluted at the Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit. The Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment is being endorsed and supported by LA Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and California State Representative Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment will be the seventh and final Summit of the tour, and is part of an unprecedented national campaign to raise awareness among millions of young adults 18-35 about the importance of financial literacy. For the first time, one of the world's leading financial institutions, Chrysler Financial, has partnered with the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), the nation's largest non-profit hip-hop organization, to help young people build a solid financial future. Russell Simmons, Chairman of HSAN, and William F. Jones, Jr., Vice President of Chrysler Financial, have pledged to work together to coordinate this national campaign under the theme "Get Your Money Right."

The program agenda of the Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment will include a focus on financial literacy, basic banking, repairing and understanding credit scores, asset and wealth management, auto financing, home ownership and entrepreneurship.

The title sponsor of the Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment Tour is Chrysler Financial.

"Financial literacy is a hot and important topic for young people," declared Russell Simmons, Chairman of HSAN. "Through hip-hop artists, the generous support and vision of partners like Chrysler Financial, we intend to make personal finance more interesting and accessible to millions of young people, as we open the door wider for them to achieve their higher aspirations."

"The Hip Hop Summit Action Network, with its pulse on youth culture, and access to millions of young people, is the right partner in our quest to help the next generation of Americans make smart decisions with their finances," said William F. Jones, Jr., Vice President-Chrysler Financial.

"The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network is pleased with the tremendous response from the hip-hop community in Los Angeles, as we prepare for the 'Get Your Money Right' Summit," emphasized Dr. Chavis. "The Los Angeles Urban League, Mother of Many, and other community organizations are working diligently to ensure the Summit's success."

About DaimlerChrysler Services North America LLC

The company provides brand-specific financing for automotive dealers' inventories and their retail consumers and does business as Mercedes-Benz Credit and Chrysler Financial. As DaimlerChrysler Services Truck Finance it also finances commercial vehicles for affiliate products such as Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star. The company serves as the headquarters for operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America and Puerto Rico and has more than 5,800 employees who manage a portfolio of more than $95 billion with nearly five million contracts. DaimlerChrysler Services North America is a member of the DaimlerChrysler Financial Services group of companies. This group is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and operates in 39 countries with an employee base exceeding 10,800 and a global portfolio of approximately $139 billion. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services group is one of the leading financial services entities worldwide. For more information on DaimlerChrysler Services in the Americas visit http://www.daimlerchryslerservices.com/na .

About Hip-Hop Summit Action Network

HSAN is a non-profit, non-partisan national coalition of artists, entertainment industry leaders, education advocates, civil rights proponents and youth leaders united in the belief that the "hip-hop" phenomena is an enormously influential agent for positive social change which must be responsibly and pro-actively utilized to fight the war on poverty and injustice. For more information on the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, go to http://www.hsan.org/ .

Source: Hip-Hop Summit Action Network

CONTACT: Jody L. Miller, jody@jlmpr.com, Ellen Zoe Golden, ellenzoe@aol.com , of JLM PR, Inc., +1-212-431-5227; or Jack Ferry of Chrysler Financial, +1-248-427-3124, jrf4@daimlerchrysler.com

Web site: http://www.daimlerchryslerservices.com/na http://www.hsan.org/

------- Profile: Ent