CommonWealth One Federal Credit Union Earns Award for Work with Alexandria Schools on Financial Education

ALEXANDRIA, VA (12/22/2011)(readMedia)-- CommonWealth One Federal Credit Union has won 1st Place 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 within their communities.

The award-winning entry focused on the credit union's partnership with the Alexandria City Public Schools. Through the efforts of CommonWealth One's Financial Literacy Team, more than 1,000 students were reached during the 2010-2011 school year with lessons on personal finance basics.

The credit union's initiatives included Reality Store events, designed to provide high school students with a taste of real-world budgeting and the management of household finances; a stock market game to teach young adults about investing; a Money Smart event that taught middle school students about savings, checking and the wise use of credit; and a "Kids Marketplace" program for elementary school students, which offered lessons on basic financial concepts.

CommonWealth One was also recognized for personal finance lessons offered in Spanish at T.C. Williams High School to English-as-a-Second-Language students. The credit union also coordinates a full-service, in-school branch at T.C. Williams High School and provides Credit Union Day events at other local schools to encourage savings.

"One of the most important life skills we can teach young people is personal finance," says CommonWealth One Federal Credit Union President/CEO John Blair. "Ensuring our young people have a firm foundation in how to save and spend wisely better positions them for a safe and secure financial future. At CommonWealth One, we take pride in a financial literacy program that will help today's children become tomorrow's savvy consumers."

CommonWealth One Federal Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative headquartered in Alexandria, with $295 million in assets and more than 35,000 members. Learn more about CommonWealth One Credit Union online at www.cofcu.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 individuals to save, and he promoted the idea of in-school savings programs (caisses scolaires).