= Members Only Content
NEWS RELEASE 2011
ABA Media Contact: Marquita Powell
(202) 663-5418
E-mail: mpowell@aba.com
List of Participating Banks | TeachChildrentoSave.com | facebook.com/ABAEF
BANKERS CELEBRATE 15 YEARS OF SAVINGS EDUCATION
April 12 Marks 15th Annual Teach Children to Save Day
WASHINGTON, April 12 – Today thousands of bankers and young people will celebrate 15 years of Teach Children to Save with financial education events across the country. [List of Participating Banks]
“For 15 years bankers have set aside this day to show their commitment to their communities and their industry,” explained Laura Fisher, executive director of the ABA Education Foundation, the group that sponsors the Teach Children to Save program. “The industry’s passion for financial education has taken Teach Children to Save Day from fewer than 100 banks in 1997 to more than 1,200 this year.”
The classroom lesson component of the Teach Children to Save program involves bankers teaching students financial skills through activities, interactive scenarios and sharing real-life experiences. The lessons cover the basics of saving, how interest makes money grow, how to create a budget and how to distinguish needs from wants.
“Today’s events will educate and raise awareness and, hopefully, inspire students to start a lifelong saving habit by opening a savings account,” said Fisher.
Financial education events will go on across the country with more than 1,200 banks of all sizes and charters participating. The Teach Children to Save program is also supported by its national partners: BBVA Compass, Citi, Fifth Third Bank, First Bank, PNC and U.S. Bank. These banks will host Teach Children to Save activities in the following cities: Dallas, Birmingham, Tucson (BBVA Compass); San Francisco, Baltimore, New York (Citi); Grand Rapids, Michigan (Fifth Third Bank); Wilmington, N.C. (First Bank); Gaithersburg, M.D., Washington, D.C. (PNC); and Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Mo. Cincinnati, Portland, San Diego (U.S. Bank).
In other Teach Children to Save activities, ABA President and CEO, Gov. Frank Keating and PNC will host a Teach Children to Save celebration event in our nation's capital at the Sheridan School.
Also, as part of the celebration, the ABA Education Foundation launched a new industry initiative to open 15,000 children’s savings accounts in 2011 known as the Race to Save. Parents interested in opening a children’s savings account can look for a bank in their area on the list of Race to Save Banks or the Teach Children to Save Honor Roll at www.teachchildrentosave.com.
Teach Children to Save is a national program that organizes banker volunteers to help young people develop a lifelong savings habit. Since the program started in 1997, some 100,000 bankers have taught saving skills to nearly 4 million students.
The ABA Education Foundation provides financial education programs and resources that help bankers make their communities better. Nearly 100,000 bankers have taught basic finance skills to about 4 million young people through participation in the Foundation’s signature programs, Teach Children to Save and Get Smart About Credit. Founded by bankers in 1925, the foundation is guided by a board of bankers and is an affiliate of the American Bankers Association.
For more information, visit www.abaef.com or call 1-800-BANKERS.
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