April 24, 2015 marked the 19th annual “Teach Children to Save Day”
During the week of April 20th – 24th, several Citizens Bank Minnesota employees visited second grade classrooms in the New Ulm and Lakeville areas and connected with over 750 students, in 9 different schools, raising awareness on the importance of saving money at an early age, for “Teach Children to Save”.
“Teach Children to Save” is a national financial literacy program that organizes banker volunteers to help young people develop a savings habit early in life. Since the program started in 1997, more than 177,000 bankers have taught savings skills to some 6 million students. This year eighteen members of Congress also joined with participating bankers to co-host events!
To emphasize how banks are a better place to save their money than at home in their piggy banks, we have the students play a game with Laffy Taffy. After the class is divided into two, they each take turns to “make a deposit” with their taffy, one group to their piggy bank, the other to the bank. After the first round, the students who deposited their taffy at the bank receive interest in the form of more taffy. After five rounds, the bank students have an overflowing bucket of taffy, while the piggy bank students have only the amount of taffy they started with. This is a good visual and interactive example for students to see the benefits of saving.
Following the Laffy Taffy game, the students talk about different ways they can add to their savings accounts, such as receiving money as a gift, earning money from jobs at home, or their allowance. They also talk about their savings goals, such as buying video games or toys now, or saving for a car or college in the future. The students are always ready to ask questions in regards to saving and the bank! And of course we leave a bucket of the candy with the teacher to pass out when she sees fit!
Citizens has a great youth Savings Force account with a Power Rewards Program. This program is geared towards saving money and getting good grades in school to earn rewards! It also includes receiving fun, educational newsletters, postcards for their birthdays and treat bags, and special promotions throughout the year. If you are interested in opening a savings account for your child or grandchild at Citizens, please stop in and talk with one of our Client Service Representatives today! You can also see details on our website at http://www.citizensmn.com/personal/the-savings-force.
By: Sarah Seifert, Marketing Assistant/Youth Club Coordinator
Citizens Bank Minnesota 
No trackbacks yet.