About CARE
What is CARE?
Founded in 2002, the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) program, seeks to educate high school and college students on the responsible use of credit and other fundamentals of financial literacy, as well as the potential consequences of poor money management and credit card abuse.
The program was founded by now-retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of New York John C. Ninfo II. Tired of seeing so many debtors coming through his courtroom having gotten into financial trouble through the misuse of credit cards and poor financial planning and budgeting, Judge Ninfo decided to take action and the CARE program was born.
Now entering its eleventh year, the CARE program boasts a presence in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Hon. John C. Ninfo, II
John C. Ninfo, II received his B.S. in Psychology Degree from Georgetown University in 1968 and J.D. Degree from Boston University Law School in 1973. He was appointed as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of New York in January, 1992. He served as a member of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Second Circuit for the four years it was in existence, as a member of the Bankruptcy Committee for the Second Circuit and a seven-year term as Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of New York. For 18 years prior to taking the bench, Judge Ninfo was with the law firm of Underberg & Kessler in Rochester, New York where his concentration was in the areas of bankruptcy, banking and commercial law.
Judge Ninfo served in the United States Marine Corps from 1968 - 1970 and was Chief Legal Clerk to the Judge Advocate General of the 4th Marine Air Wing.
In the Fall of 2002, Judge Ninfo founded the Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) Program (www.care4yourfuture.org), a personal finance literacy education outreach program that provides interested and caring judges, trustees, attorneys and court staff members from the Bankruptcy Community to high schools and colleges to share with students their unique knowledge and experiences and to provide them with lessons, tactics and techniques they need in order to help them lead a financially responsible, consumer debt-free life. As of February 2008, the CARE Program has a presence in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
CARE Advisory Board
Judge John C. Ninfo, II
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of New York - retired
Paul Groschadl
Woods Oviatt Gilman, LLP
Joe Schorer
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Allen Guon
Shaw Gussis Fishman Glantz Wolfson & Towbin LLC
CARE Judicial Advisory Board
David D. Bird
Clerk, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware
Brad Bolton
Clerk, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Colorado
Judge Sidney B. Brooks
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Colorado
Judge Carla E. Craig
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York
Judge Dennis R. Dow
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Missouri
Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division
Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Ohio
Judge Laurel Myerson Isicoff
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida
Judge Margaret M. Mann
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California
Judge Catherine Peek McEwen
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida
Judge C. Ray Mullins
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Georgia
Judge Pamela Pepper
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
Judge Barry Russell
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California
Judge Paul R. Warren
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of New York