In 2000, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy began promoting April as Financial Literacy Month. In 2003, April was declared as Financial Literacy Month for the first time by the U.S. Senate and Financial Literacy Day on the Hill was founded. The goal of Financial Literacy Month is to highlight financial literacy as an essential life skill. Virginia banks observe this month with events, activities and classes to help youth and adults improve their understanding of financial principles and practices.
It is essential to the Commonwealth that its citizenry be financially literate, responsible and able to properly manage money, credit and debt. Fortunately, Virginia is one of 20 states in the nation that requires high school students to take a course in economics and one of 17 states that requires high school students to take a course in personal finance.
Bankers’ main focus this month is Teach Children to Save (TCTS). Teach Children to Save is an annual awareness program through which bankers demonstrate their community commitment by teaching young people about the value of saving. Visiting classrooms, youth centers and after-school programs, bankers use their real-world knowledge and professional skills to encourage young people to start saving at a young age. This year, bankers will visit elementary school classrooms on April 28, the nationally celebrated Teach Children to Save Day.
In its 20th year, TCTS has reached 8.9 million young people through the commitment of more than 225,000 banker volunteers. Virginia bankers will carry out TCTS presentations throughout the state, incorporating games and activities into real-life lessons focusing on the concept of saving, how interest makes money grow, how to create a budget, and how to differentiate between needs and wants. New this year, bankers will be presenting lesson plans to get youth excited about banking industry professions.
Banker presentations, such as those carried out during Financial Literacy Month, play an important role in helping students understand personal finance topics. Last year, 425 Virginia bankers from 31 banks made 432 presentations and reached 24,203 students across the Commonwealth.
While April is a great time to focus on financial literacy, bankers don’t just visit classrooms in April; they participate in other financial literacy events throughout the year:
· Get Smart About Credit in October, when they visit high schools across the state to make presentations on knowing your credit score, paying for college, protecting your identity and managing your money;
· VBA Bank Day Scholarship Program, when they host students in their banks for the day. A total of $26,000 in college scholarships is distributed through this program;
· Virginia Council on Economic Education Teachers Institutes, when bankers teach the credit portion of this free training for teachers;
· More than 100 banks in Virginia support the VBA Education Foundation, the vehicle through which the VBA is able to offer these programs.
-Submitted by Chadler Owdom
