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FOR PRESS INQUIRIES, CONTACT:  Amy Susan (573) 751-1518
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  August 25, 2010

***MEDIA ADVISORY***
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Scholarship to Homebuyer Course Available to Bootheel Citizens

The Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR), a Division of the Missouri Labor Department, is offering 150 scholarships to an in-depth homebuyer education class. All residents of Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Scott and Stoddard counties are eligible. Valued at $100, the course is designed to unravel the complicated home-purchase process and advance consumer education about fair housing.

WHAT:	Free Homebuyer Education Class  (two-day course)
WHERE:	Lincoln University Extension Office 201 N. Stoddard Sikeston, MO
WHEN:	Part I:  Tuesday, August 31, 2010 (8:00 a.m. to noon) Part II: Thursday, September 2, 2010 (8:00 a.m. to noon)
WHO:	Audrey Franklin, housing counselor with 4-Sight Counseling, Inc. in Cape Girardeau, teaches the course and shares insider tips on improving your credit score, determining your financial readiness for a home purchase, and avoiding high-cost or unfair mortgages
RSVP:	To enroll and secure your scholarship, call 4-Sight Counseling, Inc. at 573-334-7995

Some lenders require homebuyers complete a pre-purchase homebuyer education class at their own expense; this course would likely satisfy any such pre-loan condition (consult your lender to verify).

Homebuyer education courses areone component of a year-long outreach campaign in Missouri’s Bootheel region, the Show-Me Fair Housing Awareness Project, and is made possible through an Education and Outreach Initiative grant awarded to the MCHR by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This outreach effort targets residents of Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Scott and Stoddard counties. For more information, visit www.labor.mo.gov/MoHumanRights. 

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