WASHINGTON – The National Credit Union Foundation named CU 4 Reality from America’s Credit Union Museum the recipient of the 2016 Herb Wegner Memorial Outstanding Program Award.
The Foundation said CU 4 Reality was recognized for its efforts to improve financial literacy and responsibility among future consumers by providing middle and high school students with essential financial education.
“Reality Fairs have literally swept the nation and impacted tens of thousands of teenage lives at the most important time of their understanding around financial responsibilities,” John Gregoire, chair of the Foundation’s Wegner Awards Selection Committee and president of The ProCon Group, said in a statement. “We know the impact of financial literacy goes far beyond the number of attendees at a presentation and CU 4 Reality’s hands-on approach to learning has already shown tremendous success. We are very thankful to the America’s Credit Union Museum for its initiation and drive behind this impressive program.”
New Approach to Financial Education
In 2004, recognizing the potentially disastrous consequences of financial illiteracy, America’s Credit Union Museum undertook an initiative to improve financial education in the country’s schools. The result, CU 4 Reality, is a program that offers middle and high school students a comprehensive yet accessible look at personal finance.
According to organizers, CU 4 Reality is distinguished by its unique approach to instruction. The program – offered through collaboration between credit unions and schools – combines traditional lessons with engaging activities based on real-world scenarios to communicate the importance of financial responsibility. The semester-long curriculum covers a range of issues including budgeting, tax management, credit and career exploration.
The event culminates in the CU 4 Reality Financial Literacy Fair, when students put their newfound financial knowledge to the test in a simulation of real-life personal finance. At the Fair, students get a job, calculate take-home pay and visit booths staffed by volunteers to determine their monthly expenses. They do this all the while attempting to manage their finances despite unexpected hardships and temptation. At the end of the simulation, students visit a booth manned by credit union volunteers to review their performance and learn strategies to increase revenue or reduce expenses.
Since launching the program – which has been offered to more than 87,000 students across nine states – communities have seen increases in financially stable citizens and decreased reliance on bankruptcy, public benefits and credit card debt. Currently co-sponsored by more than 60 credit unions and leagues, CU 4 Reality promotes a positive image of credit unions as reputable, secure financial institutions, helping to grow trust and interest in the movement.
America’s Credit Union Museum developed CU 4 Reality through its Financial Literacy Education Committee, and included the input of educators to ensure that the program would be workable for teachers. As the program has been tried and tested at schools over the years, the curriculum has continually been revised, updated and improved to reflect both changing times and feedback from educators.
CU 4 Reality strives to involve the entire school in the program, not just teachers. School administrators, parents and volunteers are welcomed to participate in the Financial Literacy Fair and other activities. This extensive outreach helps credit unions build relationships with schools, ensuring that generations of future students will continue to learn about the credit union difference.
“The CU 4 Reality program, with its adaptable curriculum, plays an essential role in our organization’s mission to promote thrift and financial education for today’s youth,” said John Young, president/CEO of New Hampshire FCU. “The program’s flexibility makes it popular among educators in several local schools where we bring a memorable financial literacy experience to our future members.”
CU 4 Reality is offered in several non-traditional settings. Girl Scout troops regularly employ the program to teach financial literacy to cadets, as do several associations for people with special needs. In New Hampshire, CU 4 Reality works with the Division of Children and Youth Services to offer the program to youths exiting the foster care system. CU 4 Reality has even been transported to Germany, where the program is offered to students on military bases.
Currently, CU 4 Reality is offered to 19,000 students on an annual basis; as the program continues to adapt, refine and improve itself, that number is bound to only increase.
“The feedback we received from students, volunteers and participating teachers in our CU 4 Reality Program has been phenomenal,” says Carol Southworth, Senior VP of Leominister CU. “We have been a participant in the program in the Leominister/Fitchburg area since 2009, and in the next two years, we plan to expand the program into additional Wachusett and Leominister school districts.”
