WASHINGTON — Nearly 11,500 bankers will host financial education events across the country this week in celebration of Teach Children to Save Day on April 28. Since 1997, Teach Children to Save and the ABA Foundation’s financial education initiatives have reached approximately 9.1 million children with the help of more than 245,000 banker volunteers.
In a Teach Children to Save classroom lesson, bankers teach students the fundamentals of financial literacy through age-specific activities and interactive scenarios. The lessons cover the basics of saving, as well as how to create a budget and distinguish needs from wants.
“With financial technology taking off, consumers have more money management tools at their disposal than ever before,” said Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO. “When you couple those tools with a strong foundation of financial knowledge, you can truly maximize their benefits. I’m grateful that our bankers are dedicated to building that foundation for hundreds of thousands of young people and for their continued support of Teach Children to Save.”
The ABA Foundation will mark the day, and the program’s 20th anniversary, by participating in a financial literacy lesson with Operation HOPE for fourth and fifth grade students at Houston Elementary in Washington, D.C. Nine lessons will be taught by ABA staff volunteers.
“There is overwhelming support for financial education in schools,” said Corey Carlisle, ABA Foundation executive director. “Despite that support, these valuable savings lessons are rarely required curriculum. Bankers view financial literacy initiatives as a top civic priority, and we’re proud of their efforts to educate local students and build a generation of smart money managers.”
This year, the ABA Foundation introduced new lesson plans to be used in conjunction with Teach Children to Save to help bankers inspire young students to pursue careers in banking. The ‘Bankers and You’ modules target different grade levels with different lessons, including how banks help the community, what it takes to be a banker and potential careers in the banking industry.
More than 600 banks of all sizes and charters will host Teach Children to Save events this year. Click here for the full list: Bank Participation List.
“Teach Children to Save gives us one more way to give back to our community,” said Bill Dana, president and CEO of Central Bank of Kansas City in Missouri and chairman of the ABA Foundation board of directors. “The children we reach will learn important lessons that we hope will resonate for years to come.”
The Teach Children to Save program is also generously supported by its national partners: Fiserv, Citi, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo, and through the ABA Foundation’s continued collaboration with Operation HOPE.