Virginia-Based Credit Unions Report Reaching 21,000 Students With Lessons in Personal Finance Basics
Richmond, Virginia (PRWEB) August 23, 2013 -- Virginia-based credit unions reached 21,174 students during the 2012-2013 school year with lessons on personal finance basics. Educating young people about budgeting, the importance of saving for the future, and the wise use of credit has been a priority of Virginia's not-for-profit credit unions for decades.
The efforts of the commonwealth's credit unions were recognized recently by the National Youth Involvement Board, capturing the 6th place ranking nationally in number of students reached (21,174) and 7th place nationally in the number of classroom presentations conducted (499). NYIB collects financial education data each school year from the nation's credit unions, asking credit union employees and volunteers to report the number of personal finance presentations made to students, the specific topics covered, and the number of students reached during each presentation.
"Few decisions affect us more directly than the ones we make about our money," notes UVA Community Credit Union's Rebecca Cardwell, chairwoman of the Credit Unions Care Foundation of Virginia's Financial Education Committee. "And as we've learned the past few years, financial illiteracy not only takes a terrible toll on the individual, it can also have a deep and lasting impact on our communities and society as a whole."
Virginia-based credit unions are among the nation's leaders in financial education, and have reached 261,675 students with lessons on basic budgeting and money management since 1999.
"Virginia's not-for-profit credit unions have a long history of educating consumers about money management basics," says Virginia Credit Union League President Rick Pillow, a member of the Credit Unions Care Foundation's board of directors. "We're proud of the many credit unions in Virginia, and nationwide, that are working together to share resources and best practices in ensuring our young people grow up to be financially savvy adults, capable of making informed decisions in managing their money."
Nationally, credit unions reached 400,000 students in 12,243 classroom presentations during the 2012-2013 school year, according to NYIB, figures which include the Virginia numbers.
NYIB is composed of volunteer credit union professionals devoted to financial education and youth-oriented services. Learn about NYIB online at http://www.nyib.org.
Launched in 2009 by the Virginia Credit Union League, the trade association for the commonwealth's 177 credit unions, the Credit Unions Care Foundation of Virginia believes in furthering credit unions’ social mission by aiding our communities and offering a hand up to individuals in need. The Foundation supports charitable organizations, community groups and disaster relief activities, teaches basic personal finance concepts to consumers of all ages, and help individuals improve their lives through education.
The Foundation's Financial Education Committee coordinates and supports Virginia-based credit unions' financial literacy and personal finance initiatives. Among its many projects: teaching public school educators how to teach personal finance basics in the classroom and providing resources to credit union professionals for launching their own credit union-based financial education programs. Learn about the Foundation at http://www.creditunionscarefoundation.org.
Lewis Wood, Virginia Credit Union League, http://www.creditunionscarefoundation.org, +1 (800) 768-3344 629, [email protected]
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