Some banks in the Hudson Valley and Fairfield County recently participated in the American Bankers Association (ABA) Foundation”™s program known as Teach Children to Save Day.
Despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, bank employees volunteered as they have in past years to deliver information about money, saving and banking to schoolchildren in grades kindergarten through 8th grade. This year, they used a mix of in-person class appearances and virtual communication.
According to the ABA Foundation, among the participating banks this year in the Hudson Valley were Rondout Savings Bank in Hyde Park and Kingston, Walden Savings Bank in Montgomery and Sawyer Savings Bank in Saugerties. Among those participating throughout New York state were TD Bank NA, Ridgewood Savings Bank, Alma Bank, Chemung Canal Trust Co. and Habib American Bank.
In Connecticut, Newtown Savings Bank branches in Bethel, Bridgeport, Danbury Monroe, Newtown, Oxford, Shelton, Southbury, Trumbull and Woodbury participated according to the ABA Foundation.
Other banks in Connecticut that participated included People”™s United Bank, NA, in Bridgeport, The First Bank of Greenwich, Webster Bank, TD Bank NA, Chelsea Groton Bank and Jewett City Savings Bank.
“Even a global pandemic can”™t interrupt the banking industry”™s efforts to ensure that young people have the financial education they need to succeed in a complicated world,” said Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO. “We are grateful for our bank volunteers and their extraordinary efforts to reach students with these important financial lessons, despite the challenges posed by Covid-19.”
Corey Carlisle, the ABA Foundation”™s executive director, said, “Learning to save for a rainy day is a concept that should be introduced early and reinforced often.”
The ABA Foundation offers materials that were specifically prepared for Teach Children to Save Day and designed and developed exclusively for bankers to use.
Each lesson promotes participation by the children during discussion sessions and hands-on activities, with step-by-step lesson plans.
For example, a lesson called “How Safe?” discusses with students in kindergarten, first grade and second grade the various places people keep their money. During the “Secret Agent Savings” lesson students in grades 3 through 5 use their listening skills and deductive reasoning to uncover savings mistakes.
The ABA Foundation reports that since 1997, its financial education initiatives have reached 11.6 million young people through more than 375,000 banker presentations. The next Teach Children to Save Day is scheduled for April 28, 2022. National sponsors of the program, according to the ABA Foundation, are Ally Bank, Citibank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Bank.
