Youth Initiatives

2008 Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award
League and Credit Union Winner/Honorable Mention Summaries

WINNERS

Arapahoe Credit Union - Centennial, CO
Arapahoe CU has forged a strong alliance with local school districts to increase financial literacy, offering free programs to any classroom setting K-12. Over 60 representatives from 16 Colorado credit unions participated in train-the-trainer financial education workshops sponsored by the credit union. For students, the credit union offers a Seeds for Financial Success program, which can be customized to enhance existing classroom curriculum. During the 2007-2008 school year, Arapahoe’s Director of Financial Education conducted 237 presentations reaching 5,000 students in Arapahoe County School Districts. The National Youth Involvement Board ranked Arapahoe CU first in Colorado and seventh nationally in number of presentations conducted.

LA DOTD Federal Credit Union - Denham Springs, LA
LA DOTD FCU employs a full-time Financial Education Leader to work with school systems, parents and teachers to educate young people on financial literacy topics. The Financial Education Leader has developed curricula and lessons that have been correlated with Louisiana’s content standards and benchmarks, and can be easily linked to district grade-level expectations. Credit union staff makes numerous presentations to teachers and school officials, credit union professionals, elected officials, the media and the general public on financial literacy. During a one-year period, the credit union made 266 financial education presentations to 8,519 young people ranging in age from preschool to college.

Rogue Federal Credit Union - Medford, OR
The success of Rogue FCU’s structured personal finance classes is demonstrated by a number of metrics: only one charged-off account occurred since the structured personal finance classes were initiated in 2004; there have been no losses in share draft accounts among young people participating in the classes; membership has grown since the program was introduced; and the average age of members has dropped from 47 to 44. The credit union’s classes achieved a 67% new membership rate in 11 area schools. Rogue operates two student branches and is working to establish a third branch at a local high school.

Sonoma County Grange Credit Union - Santa Rosa, CA
Sonoma County Grange CU targets eight high schools in its community that operate active agriculture science programs. The schools receive an annual visit by a credit union representative. The credit union also sponsors the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program for a continuation high school in the district. Sonoma County Grange’s four week countywide Money Matters! Program teaches teens about smart money management. The 4-H/FFA Agricultural Loan Program allows teen members who are actively involved in a Grange, 4-H or FFA project to borrow up to $1,500 to initiate or expand a project. A variety of other outreach programs is available to local youth to hone their money management skills.

Credit Union Association of New York - Albany, NY
The New York Credit Union Foundation (NYCUF) conducted NEFE training and informational sessions for 545 teachers, 79 credit union staff members, 20 school and NYSED administrators, 38 community organization representatives, and 32 CUCE educators. This outreach resulted in a 51% increase in the number of Student Guides distributed in New York State. The league’s brass/Student Program delivered more than 48,000 copies of the brass/MAGAZINE student issue to NYS high schools. A total of 444 teachers have registered for the brass/TEACHER RESOURCE CENTER, with 342 teachers as the primary contact for their schools. And 24 credit unions downloaded scholarship information on the Credit Unions for College searchable database.

Maine Credit Union League - Westbrook, ME
Three years ago Virginia Beach Schools FCU and Beach Municipal FCU partnered on financial education projects in the area. The union led to a partnership with the Virginia Beach Cooperative Extension Agent. The result was a first-ever Money Camp for 7th and 8th grade students. The camp curriculum, designed specifically for teens, provides financial education utilizing fun interactive games, lesson plans and activities that engage teens in thinking about the wise management of money. Twenty-four students attended the Money Camp program, held from June 18 to June 22, 2007 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Followup included a survey of parents, as well as three-and-six-month surveys by students. Participants also completed pre-and-post-camp tests to measure their retained knowledge. The partnership with the Cooperative Extension also resulted in eight NEFE train-the-trainer sessions.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Arlington Virginia Federal Credit Union - Arlington, VA
Arlington Virginia FCU operates five school branches, three in high schools and two in elementary schools, and provides some 60 students with hands-on experience in financial operations. Arlington also teamed up with the Cooperative Extension agent to train more than 50 teachers in using NEFE materials in their classrooms and to provide the Reality Store Program at the Arlington Career Center. The credit union initiated three programs to address the needs of youth financial literacy, including partnering with school clubs serving Latinos to provide an after-school program; working with a community organization that helps adults overcome substance abuse to offer a basic financial literacy curriculum; and presenting information on personal finance to more than 2,670 students, including those in a Teen Parenting Program and in an Alternative High School Continuation Program. Credit union personnel were also featured on a Home and Family Finance radio program.

Dakota Plains Credit Union - Edgeley, ND
Dakota Plains CU reached out to 125 teachers and support staff during their in-service training providing information about NEFE and other financial education resources available to them and also made several classroom presentations throughout the year. The credit union also sponsored a Graduation Recognition event for high school seniors and their parents at which they presented practical advice for navigating financial issues such as credit scores and identity theft. Dakota Plains also held several other events throughout the year to promote financial education and participated in activities at the regional and national levels.

Denver Community Credit Union - Denver, CO
Denver Community CU spread the word about the critical issues relating to youth financial literacy through testimony to its state legislature, submission of comments to the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, participation in financial literacy roundtables at the state and federal level, and presentation of its youth program to the Credit Union Association of Colorado. The credit union also offered a total of 28 classes, tours, events, and counseling sessions to reach out to more than 500 youth as well as providing 16 financial education classes to 565 teachers and adults. A Youth Advisory Board consisting of local teenagers was also created to provide feedback on youth classes as well as to teach them.

DuPont Community Credit Union - Waynesboro, VA
DuPont Community CU increased the exposure of financial education in the community by 50% over the previous year, generating 4,702 contacts at 36 organizations, including pre-schools, elementary, middle and high schools, colleges, community organizations and non-traditional learning environments. DuPont Community distributed 430 resource packages to 88 schools; the packets described the financial education programs available to help teachers meet Virginia Standards of Learning requirements, including NEFE materials. The credit union also added enhancements to its youth program called Milestones, awarded $19,000 in college scholarships and partnered with a foster care group to provide financial education to underserved youth, despite the organization being outside of its field of membership.

MECU of Baltimore, Inc. - Baltimore, MD
MECU of Baltimore partnered with six local elementary schools, working directly with teachers and principals every week, and taught personal financial management classes in 13 high schools for 770 students in the CollegeBound program. MECU has met with state lawmakers regarding the need for financial literacy legislation and provided testimony when bills were introduced. As a founding sponsor of the Baltimore CASH campaign, MECU participated in MoneyPower Day, distributing a combination coloring book-coin saver that teaches children the benefits of saving. The credit union is also an active member of the Maryland Coalition for Financial Literacy.

Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union - Syracuse, NY
Cooperative Federal CU published Life Skills: Planning Your Financial Future, a teacher's manual that includes lesson plans, activities and visual aid instructions. The lessons use real-world examples and incorporate different learning styles to provide a learning experience accessible to students with varying abilities and was field-tested in classrooms and at youth programs over the last two years. The 204-page manual has been shared with more than 100 credit unions, schools and non-profit organizations across the U.S. The credit union also taught more than 10 youth financial education courses reaching more than 100 students and held one-time workshops for more than 250 low-income youth participating in a summer job placement program.

Winston-Salem City Employees' Credit Union - Winston-Salem, NC
When Winston-Salem City Employees' CU opened its newest branch at Union Cross Traditional Academy, an elementary school serving 1,100 students, it created the first student-run credit union in North Carolina. The branch is operated by 22 student volunteers from the third through fifth grade who are supervised by credit union employees. The branch boasts 152 share accounts with deposits totaling $5,895. The credit union also produces a student newsletter and provides financial exercises and other tools to assist students with learning basic financial and life skills. A student-credit union Web site is planned for the future.