EUGENE, Ore. – Toddlers were able to purchase a make-believe SELCO Community CU debit card, then use it to fill their toy cars with gas, buy stamps at a replica post office, groceries at a play supermarket, an ice cream, or wash their car, then make a deposit at the credit union–all as part of the "Kiddie Grand Prix" exhibition at the annual Lane County Fair yesterday.
The annual exhibit allows kids to learn about real life finances and helps promote SELCO’s "Coindexter Kids" financial education program, according to Jan Burch, director of community involvement for the $750 million credit union. "It’s really for fun, of course, but it’s all structured around the credit union and who we are," Burch told The Credit Union Journal, of the popular exhibit.
The exhibit was created with the help of the city of Eugene’s Recreation Services department, which will get the 12 peddle-driven kiddie cars after the Fair ends Sunday. The toy cars will be donated to an after-school program for tots known as Kid Adventure.
SELCO, which has staged the exhibit the last three years, sponsored Tuesday’s opening night at the annual fair, one of the state’s biggest.
