PURCHASE, N.Y. -
"What we realized is that there are a lot of programs geared for teens, but not for little kids. We felt that group was left out," said Heather Sulca, president of the Select Savers Club and business development manager at Quorum. "Financial education should start earlier."
Last month the club hosted an event for the Boys & Girls Clubs of North Westchester, specially designed for children ages 6 to 8, as a way to teach the younger generation about financial education at an early age. "We taught them the basics of savings and spending," Sulca said. "And we created activity sets for them take home."
Sulca said that the children were very excited about the program. About 100 were in attendance.
"They've never had someone come out to talk to them about these things," she said. "We answered questions like 'What is a credit card?' and 'What are piggy banks for?'"
The theme of the event was a pirate adventure. The children traveled to the "Saving Seas" to find a hidden treasure. On their "journey," they visited five islands.
At the "Island of Dollars & Centers," they learned about money, why it's needed, and the different values of coin and paper money. At "Saver's Paradise," they learned about saving and spending money. At "Treasure Island," they learned about banks and credit unions, and credit and debit cars. At the "Land of Profit," they learned about earning and investing money. And at "Charity Island," the kids learned about donating and sharing money. They each went home with their activity set, including an activity book, pirate costume pieces, a new presidential gold dollar coin and a piggy bank.
But the club isn't just for kids. For a lifetime membership costing a $5 fee, Select Savers Club members receive a variety of benefits, including: a quarterly newsletter detailing common financial pitfalls and tips on how to avoid them, eligibility to participate in a series of seminars where they can learn how to become financially independent, and access to the club website.
The idea of the website is where it all began, Sulca said. "Our real vision was a website where people could get all kinds of information," she said, "about savings and why its important."
When the site is fully functional, it will feature a calculator and worksheets to help members learn how to budget their money. "It's really a tool for people to teach them how to become more financially independent," Sulca said. "It's not so much for counseling, but more for information."
The Select Savers Club is not being advertised at all through the credit union, because although it is affiliated with Quorum FCU, membership is open to anyone with an interest in learning more about financial matters, savings and the wise use of credit, according to club literature.
"Not everyone can join [Quorum FCU], because we are faith-based," she said, which is why it was decided to extend membership to the club to those outside of the credit union. At present, about 50% of the members of the Select Savers Club are also members of the Quorum FCU. The affiliation with the CU, is how the club is funded, Sulca said.
Sulca said that the Select Savers Club was started by members of the credit union. "We said 'We really need to do something to help people.' And that's really how it started," she said.
For More Resources
For more info on this story:
* www.selectsavers.org
* www.quorumfcu.org
