BayPort Credit Union Wins Award for Preparing Teachers for Schools' Personal Finance Education Requirements

LYNCHBURG, VA (11/05/2010)(readMedia)-- Newport News-based BayPort Credit Union has won a 2nd Place Award in the Desjardins Youth Financial Education Awards for credit unions. The Desjardins Awards, sponsored by the Virginia Credit Union League and the Credit Union National Association, honor credit unions for their commitment to teaching personal finance basics to young people.

The credit union's award-winning entry spotlighted its work in helping teachers prepare lessons to meet the requirements of the state's financial literacy Standards of Learning (SOLs). BayPort provided sponsorships to send 24 teachers to Washington, D.C. for a two-day conference by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. The teachers also became ambassadors to their respective school divisions to promote BayPort's other financial literacy resources, including FoolProof, a unique online financial literacy resource that the credit union offers through its website.

"Young people who don't learn money management basics may find themselves faced with one financial hurdle after another as adults. We're thrilled that personal finance basics are taught in our schools, but we also understand the need to provide our educators with the necessary resources to make personal finance concepts relevant and relatable in the classroom," said BayPort Credit Union President/CEO George Dudley Jr.

BayPort was also recognized for a host of innovative financial education programs that encourage saving, including its Young Investors Club and the Fast Start Savings program. It also won praise for its free, monthly workshops for members on budgeting, understanding a credit card, managing a checkbook and using credit wisely.

With total assets in excess of $1.1 billion, BayPort Credit Union is a member-owned, full-service financial institution with 13 branch locations in Newport News, Hampton, Grafton, Gloucester, Williamsburg, Smithfield, Suffolk and Chesapeake serving individuals and businesses in the Greater Hampton Roads community. For more information, visit BayPort Credit Union at www.bayportcu.org.

The award is named in honor of Alphonse Desjardins, the founder of the North American credit union movement, who established the first "caisse populaire" (people's bank) in Quebec in 1900, and helped establish the first American credit union in New Hampshire in 1909. Desjardins was an ardent believer in the value of teaching children to save, and he promoted the idea of in-school savings programs (caisses scolaires).