February 17, 2010
At 11am on Friday February 19th, the first student-run elementary school credit union in the Fox Cities will be dedicated in a ribbon cutting ceremony at Jefferson Elementary School, 1000 S Mason St., Appleton with United States Senator Herb Kohl in attendance. The credit union is a result of the on-going financial education partnership between the Appleton Area School District (AASD) and Community First Credit Union (CFCU) focused on bringing hands-on experience and real-life examples to students in the district.
The first of its kind in the area, Community First opened the Jefferson Elementary credit union in December. Focusing on financial literacy, the program consists of Activity Days with book reads, trivia, games and more; Deposit Days where students can make deposits to their accounts during the lunch period and a Financial Literacy Library of books and games for students to borrow. To encourage participation in the program among all students, Community First made the initial five dollar deposit into each account opened by students of the school.
The branch is staffed by more than 30 fifth and sixth grade students who process transactions under the supervision of credit union staff and participate in the planning and implementation of special activities and marketing focused on teaching the importance of developing saving habits.
Several years ago Community First Credit Union and the Appleton Area School District partnered on the important issue of financial literacy among today's youth. “It is part of our mission in the community to work hand-in-hand with the AASD to help youth understand the benefits of smart money management.” says Cathie Tierney, President /CEO of Community First Credit Union. “From learning about the importance of saving , budgeting, and wise borrowing, to how to protect your credit rating--financial literacy skills will make a significant difference in the quality of life for these students not only today but for the rest of their lives.” The partnership has created several successful financial literacy initiatives such as an AASD graduation requirement in personal financial management, and student run/owned credit union branches at all three high schools. This is the first program implemented at the elementary school level.
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Contact Information:
Amanda Secor
SVP Marketing
Community First Credit Union
920-830-7200
amanda.secor@communityfirstcu.org
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