Washington— Up to Us, a nationwide campus competition that gives young leaders a voice on fiscal issues, begins its fourth year this week. The expanding non-partisan program includes student teams from 73 colleges and universities in 28 states across the country including three in North Carolina.

North Carolina A&T, NC Central University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro are participating.

The competition kicks off with the second annual My Two Cents Day, a student-led day of mobilization to engage, educate and inspire action among millennials, the generation most impacted by the nation’s long-term fiscal and economic health.

Two Cents Day launches the Up to Us competition, in which the teams will develop and execute broader campus campaigns over three weeks in February 2016. The campaigns will be reviewed by a panel of distinguished judges on their effectiveness in raising awareness and inspiring action on campus and beyond.

The winning Up to Us team will be awarded a $10,000 cash prize and will be recognized by President Clinton at the ninth annual CGI U meeting at the University of California, Berkeley in April 2016. Additionally, students from top teams will be invited to travel to Washington, DC to meet with policy organizations, civic groups and leaders from across the political spectrum to discuss millennials’ stake in fiscal issues, and attend the Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s 2016 Fiscal Summit.

Previous winners include teams from the University of Virginia (2013), the University of Texas-Pan American (2014), and Stockton University (2015).

In last year’s competition, teams developed a wide variety of creative activities to engage and educate their peers, including hosting substantive discussions with local elected officials, economists, and entrepreneurs as well as social events such as debt bingo, a life-size game of Monopoly incorporating fiscal trivia, and a Mardi Gras second line parade to raise awareness of fiscal and economic issues.

On the web: http://www.itsuptous.org/socialstream