Youth Initiatives

Youth Week 2002 Success Stories

Youth Week promotion plan

National Credit Union Youth Week
April 14-20, 2002

Kid’s 12 & Under Special Promotion

• Theme: "Come GROW With Us"
  • FREE customized seed packets ("money plants") and 2 contest entry blanks with individual letters
  • Every child who comes in gets a FREE financial education coloring book (while supplies last) & parents get a "Teach Children About Money" brochure
  • FREE Froggie’s ice cream punch card
• Contest: Share membership with other kids - 2 WEEKS (April 15 - April 26)
  • Savings accounts
  • Kid’s club
  • Entry blanks: enter 4 ways:
    • Open a first-time savings account
    • Join the Kid’s Club
    • Refer a friend who joins Kid’s Club
    • Refer a friend who opens a savings account
  • Daily prize drawings - 2 winners per day
    • CBCFCU Calculator Pencil Boxes (8)
    • CBCFCU logo piñatas w/ toys (6)
    • CBCFCU Basketballs (6)
    • GRAND PRIZE: $50 "Money Tree" (1)

Age 13 to 17 (High School & Jr. High) Kids

• Theme: "It’s your future, Your Money, Your Choice"
  • Special postcard mailing to the teens about Youth Week contest
• Special letter to parents of AHS students telling them about Nat’l CU Youth Week, the High School branch, our commitment to the financial literacy of our youth, and a free brochure enclosed - "Helping Your Teen Become Accountable"
• Contest: Share membership (2 WEEKS)
  • Lime green water bottles for every new account or for referring someone (one per member, students only, while supplies last)
  • Entry blanks:
    • Refer a friend to join CU
    • Join CU or open a new account
  • Daily prizes - winners announced over intercom - 2 winners per day @ AHS & daily drawings at CU for age 13-14 kids (different-colored entry blanks than 12 & under kids)
    • $5 gift certificates to fast-food restaurants (8)
    • $10 bills (4)
    • Piggy banks w/ $5 gold dollars (8)
    • GRAND PRIZE: $100 Money Tree (1)

Postcard to teens

Letter to parents of teens

April 5, 2002

Dear Parent:

Did you know that in August of 2001, Alvin High School and Chocolate Bayou Community Federal Credit Union opened one of a very few student-run high school credit unions in the state of Texas? That means your teenager has greater access to financial services and educational opportunities than you or I ever had at that age.

Financial illiteracy among today’s youth is staggering. Teenagers spend more than $100 billion a year, yet less than half of our young people know the basics of money management. A survey of young people ages 12 through 19 indicated that 40% of them have access to a credit card and another 33% are interested in having one1. Add to this the statistics that consumer debt has grown nearly 700% since 19772 and more than one million Americans file for bankruptcy every year3.

Schools and Credit Unions across Texas are striving to make a difference. Our commitment to providing financial education and services for your child does not end at graduation. Rather, it is our goal to lay a foundation upon which they can build for the rest of their lives. Not only have we provided an in-school credit union branch for students and teachers, but CBCFCU has also made the High School Financial Planning Program available to Alvin High School. This program and all the materials are provided free-of-charge by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) to help teens gain greater skills and understanding in managing their own finances. If you would like more information about the NEFE program, please call Billie Marney at CBCFCU, (281) 331-2253 ext. 136, or visit www.nefe.org.

We also want to invite you to help us celebrate National Credit Union Youth Week this April 14 - 20 by talking to your children about their financial futures. As a parent, you already have a lot of financial experience to share. It is our hope that National Credit Union Youth Week will open some doors of discussion between parents and kids. And, now is a great time to encourage a savings plan. The enclosed brochure provides some ideas for helping your teen become financially accountable.

We’re here to help our youth meet their financial futures head-on. Feel free to call us with questions or if we may be of service in any way to you and your family.

Warm regards,

Gary Davis, CCUE
President & CEO

p.s. We are also committed to supporting job training for our students with disabilities. Thank you to the students in the Vocational Adjustment Class for helping prepare this mailing!

1 Teen Research Unlimited (1999)
2 National Bankruptcy Review Commission (October 1997)
3 The Wall Street Journal (February 11, 2000)

Letter to young members

April 4, 2002

During the weeks of April 15 - 26, we’re having a SPECIAL CONTEST in celebration of National Credit Union Youth Week! You can win daily prizes, pick up FREE stuff and enter to win the Grand Prize - a $50 money tree - just for helping us celebrate.

All you have to do is share Credit Union membership (and the importance of saving money) with your friends. Or, make a deposit into your own savings account.

1. Enter every time you refer a friend who joins the Credit Union
2. Enter every time you refer a friend who joins the CBCFCU Kid’s Club
3. Enter each time you make a deposit of $5 or more into your own account
4. Join the Kid’s Club (if you’re not already a member)
5. And, your friends can enter once for starting a savings account, once for joining the Kid’s Club and once for every friend they refer!

To get you started, we’ve enclosed some special items...

• 2 packets of seeds to grow your own Money Plant and share one with a friend,
• A special punch card for Froggie’s Ice Cream Parlor, and
• 2 entry blanks to help you start sharing membership with your friends or brothers and sisters.

So, start thinking about everyone you want to tell about YOUR Credit Union. We can’t wait to see you!