GLENDORA, Calif.– America’s Christian Credit Union recently conducted financial literacy training for students in San Gabriel Valley. In keeping with its corporate priorities of building stronger communities and futures, ACCU said it taught foundational economic principles at Foothill Christian School, Azusa Pacific University, and Citrus College.
More than 50 students, ranging from fourth graders to college seniors, attended the workshops during October and November. Members of ACCU’s staff presented a total of eleven sessions, covering topics such as saving, balancing a checkbook, building a good credit score, setting financial goals, budgeting, and giving back.
The series kicked off with a three-week workshop at Azusa Pacific University where presenterJessica Jenkins, an MBA student at APU, serves as a teller at ACCU’s main branch. The training was hosted by APU’s TRiO Student Support Services, a federally funded program that provides support to first-generation college students, students from low-income families, and those with disabilities.
“We had a total of 25 very engaged participants,” said Jessica. “They came up with creative slogans for the Money Mantras activity, and what they shared in the Dream Big session was heartwarming.” While some naturally wanted to clear their student loans, many dreamed of contributing to charitable causes, from paying off their parents’ house, to taking their mom on a vacation, to starting a community garden.
Next, ACCU’s community engagement coordinator, Nikole Pearce, launched a pioneering program for 4th to 8th graders at Foothill Christian School. When the five-week workshop ended, a student’s mother sent Nikole a grateful email saying, “Thank you so much for putting on this program for FCS. Owen (and our family!) have really benefited from the principles he learned over the last several weeks!”
The final workshop in this series, a three-week session at Citrus College, was presented by Rachel Solorza, an accounting staff with five years of service at ACCU.
“The student engagement was a key indicator that they were benefiting from what they were learning,” said Rachel, who enjoys helping young people become financially literate.
“The workshops helped me learn a lot about credit scores,” said Maya, a second-year student at Citrus who wants to be a psychologist. Eye-opening for Ava, a communications major, were the different ways to budget, especially how to spend less and save more.
Fun incentives like a weekly raffle were sprinkled throughout each workshop. When asked what they would do with the prize money, many winners said they would use it to open a savings account, ACCU said.