Youth Initiatives

Youth Week 2008 Success Stories

South Carolina

SC Telco FCU
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SC Telco Federal Credit Union
Melody Alemán

We surpassed our credit union deposit goal on the first day! I must say I was very presently surprised. However, we are working very hard to meet our new account goal. That has been the biggest challenge so far this year.

Shown is our Florence, SC staff in their “youth week” t-shirts. They are doing a “Farmer Theme” for youth week. Our Easley, SC, branch stuck with a recycling and “money tree” theme.

Texas

GENCO Federal Credit Union
Charli Phillips

Genco FCU
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GENCO Federal Credit Union – with offices in Waco and Lufkin, Texas – is having a great time with Youth Week so far. All six of our branches are participating and have had kids registering for the National Youth Saving Challenge on Monday and Tuesday. We are offering the following activities and prizes for youth:

A coloring contest at each branch – best colored picture wins a gift card to a local restaurant
A “guess the cash in the jar” game at each branch – whoever has the most accurate guess wins the cash in the jar (kids must make a deposit to guess)
A special drawing for all new accounts opened during Youth Week – one lucky winner will receive a GENCO pink piggy bank filled with cash
Each time a child makes a deposit at any branch during Youth Week, he or she receives a $100 sticker and gets to choose a special green prize out of our green prize buckets.
All employees are wearing name tag “extensions” that read: “Got Green? Grow it at your Credit Union! I’m saving for _______.”
On Earth Day (actually, every day of Youth Week), all GENCO employees were encouraged to wear green. One vice president wore green socks, trousers, shirt, and tie, a wristwatch with a green face and he carried a green pen in his shirt pocket (he gets the ultimate green award for the day)!
When a child made a deposit on Earth Day, he or she received a packet of seeds to grow at home.
At our main office in Waco, we have a large tree on one wall in the lobby, and as kids make deposits they are allowed to add money “leaves” to the help “grow the tree”
At our Lorena branch (about 10 miles south of Waco), all employees are wearing matching green shirts and green Mardi Gras-style beads. They have decorated their branch lobby with green streamers and balloons to hand out to kids, and they have a “money tree” as well. On Wednesday, the Lorena branch will be serving green cookies in their lobby, and on Friday they will wear their matching green shirts again.

This is our first year to participate in Youth Week, so we had a pretty small budget – but we feel like we’ve made the most of it. Hope other credit unions are having as much fun as we are!

Baycel FCU
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Baycel Federal Credit Union
Melinda Owen

I am so thankful to announce that we met all of our goals. Friday was our biggest day at Baycel Federal Credit Union. We had our police department come and make child safety kits. They learned a lot this week. How to protect themselves, the environment, and their financial future. Shown is our youngest new member. He is eight months old.

One Source Federal Credit Union
Jeff Campbell

We are planning several things for Youth Week this year. We are all going to wear the official Youth Week Got Green t-shirts on Earth Day. We will have balloons and cookies all week in each branch. Also, all week we will have jars filled with silver and gold coins for people to guess the amount. Whoever gets closest without going over wins the jar! On Friday we are having the sheriffs at our main branch to give kids Amber cards. And then on Saturday, we are having our annual Member Appreciation Picnic in the park across from our main branch. Food, games, and jumping balloons will be at the picnic, all for free!

Utah

Intermountain Credit Union
Elizabeth Barton

We held a coloring contest, and offered a youth CD special. For our web, we had these offers posted. I used CUNA’s poster logo for the home page for them to click on details with these pages attached. Also, we ran a 30 second commercial during Youth Week about the national drawing.

Vermont

Caswell Credit Union
Sarah Fuller

Caswell CU
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Caswell Credit Union has had a great start for Youth Month. We’ve decorated our office windows letting members know that April is all about kids.

When kids deposit they get:

To add a leaf to our in office tree to help it grow
Receive a sapling, compost and a 16oz cup to plant
Ben and Jerry’s Peace Pop
Stickers and temporary tattoos
Fortune Tellers
They can enter our in-house drawing by age to receive a $75 gift certificate to Kids Town, $25 to Barnes and Noble and electronic Monopoly, or a Green iPod shuffle with a $25 iTunes gift card.
They are entered into the national drawing of $100

Our tree is growing quite fast, it’s great to see kids come in, and it’s even more fun to see what they are saving for.

Virginia

SYNERGY One Federal Credit Union
Rebecca Forsberg

All activities are FREE and open to youth ages 17 and under and at Synergy One, every youth deposit made during this week is rewarded. In celebration of Youth Week and in honor of Earth Day, Stonewall Middle School and Synergy One will plant a tree on the school grounds. Synergy One and school staff and students will attend the brief ceremony to remind them that although money doesn’t grow on trees…it does take time to grow and reap a financial harvest.

Wisconsin

Guardian Credit Union Michelle Kamke

Guardian Credit Union believes strongly in youth financial education and is proud to participate in this year’s National Youth Credit Union Week. Throughout the week, all Guardian branch locations will be offering free gifts, contests, and balloons to all youth who visit the branch. This year, Guardian will finish the week with a very special event featuring Milwaukee Brewers Third Baseman Bill Hall and Radio Disney. Guardian Credit Union will be giving away $500 in US Savings Bonds to kids coloring contest and teens essay contest’s winners.

At Guardian’s West Milwaukee location, from 10 a.m. until Noon, Radio Disney (AM 1640) will be broadcasting live from Guardian Credit Union. The Radio Disney crew will be offering FREE prizes, games, crafts and a live performance of the Radio Disney dancers. From Noon until 1 p.m. Milwaukee Brewer Bill Hall will make a special appearance at Guardian Credit Union. Bill Hall will be shaking hands and signing autographs for children. All kids who open a new account, or make a deposit into their current account will receive a FREE Guardian Credit Union Baseball Bank (while supplies last). For an additional savings coupon, kids and teens can visit www.guardiancu.org and print the latest editions of the newsletters. Adults who open a new checking account will have the opportunity to spin a wheel for FREE prizes including bonus account deposits, Culver’s gift cards and Milwaukee Brewers tickets!

Guardian Credit Union will offer FREE admission to two giant inflatable bouncers and slides from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Kids can also check their pitching speed at the inflatable baseball game. A cookout will be held on the Guardian Credit Union grounds to raise money for the annual scholarship fund. Kids will also have a chance to meet two of the Milwaukee Brewers famous Sausage Racers, Guardian’s mascot, Edgar the Eagle, and Scoopie, the mascot of Culver’s Restaurants.

Wyoming

WESC Federal Credit Union
Apryl Mosteller

In our lobby and on our free youth week web pages we are promoting our events. We rolled out our new youth accounts called Little Sprouts and we are having a Planter Painting Party on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to go with the theme of our new accounts and this year’s youth week promotions. We will have the members vote for their favorite planter and give prizes to the winner of each age group. For the kids who can't come in to the credit union for the painting, we have a planter coloring page. We are also asking the kids to help us come up with a name for our teen accounts and the winner will receive a prize.