‘Teach to save’ day set for April 29

RBC — Today’s teens are active consumers, spending $180 billion annually. But are they saving in addition to spending? To enlighten our youth on the importance of saving, First National Bank of the Rockies will share savings lessons in the communities they serve in honor of the 12th annual National Teach Children to Save Day, a program sponsored by the American Bankers Association Education Foundation.
“It makes sense that banks teach financial literacy,” said Pete Waller, president and CEO of First National Bank of the Rockies. “FNBR is committed to empowering young people to make smart decisions early in life, so as to not make mistakes with their money as adults.”
Recent studies report that almost 90 percent of young people have never taken a class in personal finance, although they spend billions each year. Waller explained that youth spend an average of $104 per week and the figures highlight the urgent need for financial education.
Bankers across the country will incorporate games and activities into lessons on the concept of saving, how interest makes money grow, how to create a budget and differentiate between needs and wants on Tuesday, April 29. Since the foundation launched the Teach Children to Save Day program in 1997, more than 45,000 bank volunteers have reached nearly 2.3 million students with saving lessons.
“Without programs like Teach Children to Save Day and banks who commit to them, many kids would enter into adulthood with little or no financial education,” emphasized Waller. “FNBR wants to lead the initiative in our communities and we invite other banks and financial institutions to join the effort.”
FNBR plans to schedule presentations at their local elementary, junior or senior high schools, during after-school programs or at community centers. For those schools that don’t have time in their schedule, the banks will provide information for teachers and libraries to use at their leisure.
The foundation offers two Teach Children to Save resource kits, one for grades K-6 and one for grades 7-12. These turnkey resources include: planning materials and helpful hints and tips for bankers, communication materials, age-appropriate, interactive lesson plans with corresponding activities and resources for families to share.
Kit materials support the National Standards in Personal Finance established by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, as well as curriculum standards established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and others.
For more information on National Teach Children to Save Day, or to schedule a financial literacy lesson with your school or community center, call a First National Bank of the Rockies office near you.
First National Bank of the Rockies was originally founded in 1904 as The First National Bank of Meeker. Today, the bank serves customers throughout western Colorado with locations in Craig, Grand Junction, Hayden, Meeker, Oak Creek, Rangely and Steamboat Springs. For more information about FNBR, visit www.fnbrockies.com.
The ABA Education Foundation, a non-profit subsidiary of the American Bankers Association, is committed to developing and providing education programs that lead to financial literacy. For more than eighty years, we have supported the banking industry’s efforts to teach personal finance skills in schools and communities across the country. The programs we provide are specifically and uniquely created for young children, teenagers and adults to provide them with the skills they need to budget, save, and manage credit. For more information, visit http://www.abaef.com or call 1-800-BANKERS.