Bank Volunteers Celebrate National Financial Literacy Month with Teach Children to Save Lessons

On April 27th, bank employees will deliver financial literacy lessons to K-8 students across the nation as part of the ABA Foundation’s 2023 Teach Children to Save Day. The annual Teach Children to Save campaign is a centerpiece of the banking industry’s longstanding commitment to youth financial education. Participating bankers will raise financial awareness through a combination of community events, virtual presentations, social media engagement and in-branch resources.

In a Teach Children to Save lesson, volunteer bank employees teach students the fundamentals of personal finance through age-specific activities and interactive scenarios. The ABA Foundation provides registered banks with turn-key educational resources at no cost to help facilitate these lessons. New to its suite of resources this year is a 20-minute animated video, “Middle School Money Mission,” featuring an interactive game show on fundamental money concepts for grades 6-8.  This year, program resources and guidance are centered around the Foundation’s theme of protecting your financial future.

“America’s banks understand the critical role a solid financial education plays in ensuring a secure and stable future for young people,” said Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO. “We’re grateful to participating banks for their strong commitment to the Teach Children to Save Program, and for letting their employees share these lessons with students in their local communities."

To celebrate the day, ABA staff will lead financial literacy lessons at Junior Achievement’s Finance Park in Silver Spring, Md. Staff volunteers will cover important topics like budgeting, understanding debit and credit, as well as saving, investing and risk management. Students will then be assigned a career, salary, credit score, debt and family. ABA volunteers will help them apply what they’ve learned as they navigate financial decision making within the facility’s “mini-city.”

“Ensuring the next generation has the knowledge and skills to achieve financial stability is one of the ABA Foundation’s top priorities,” said Lindsay Torrico, executive director, ABA Foundation.  “This year, we are deepening our commitment to Teach Children to Save through ABA staff volunteer opportunities and by providing new, robust resources so our nation’s banks can do the same for their customers and communities.”

More than 457 banks of all sizes and charters have held or plan to hold Teach Children to Save events this year, reaching more than 650,000 students. These critical lessons, led by more than 11,000 banker volunteers, are a key component to the ABA Foundation’s three-year industry-wide commitment to reach five million Americans with financial education lessons through its campaigns.

The Teach Children to Save program is generously supported by its national sponsors: Ally Financial, Citi and Zions Bancorp.