WASHINGTON — Bankers across the country are celebrating the American Bankers Association Foundation’s Get Smart About Credit Day today by visiting high school classrooms to teach teens how to use credit effectively and other financial lessons. Get Smart About Credit Day, celebrated annually on the third Thursday of October, is part of the ABA Foundation’s larger financial education initiative. The program encourages bankers to present lessons on important financial obstacles facing young adults, including paying for college, knowing their credit score, managing money and protecting their identity.
Through Get Smart About Credit, more than 3,800 bankers will deliver financial education lessons to nearly 133,000 students this year. These presentations are scheduled to take place in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia.
“Education and hands-on money experience are critical in building a generation of smart money managers,” said Corey Carlisle, executive director of the ABA Foundation. “We’re proud to support bankers and their commitment to their communities with programs like Get Smart About Credit.”
This year, Get Smart About Credit is sponsored by Citi, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank.
To encourage banker participation, the ABA Foundation offers free informational webinars, as well as lesson plans, program materials and real-time customer support.
Registered banks are featured on a list of participating banks on the ABA Foundation’s website and in press materials. Since 1997, the ABA Foundation’s financial education programs have reached over 7.6 million young people with the help of more than 225,000 banker volunteers.