DuPont Community Credit Union Honored for Youth Financial Education Program

LYNCHBURG, VA (10/22/2010)(readMedia)-- Waynesboro-based DuPont Community 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 to young people.

The credit union was recognized for its MileStones Youth Program, a one-of-a-kind financial education program that rewards young people for acquiring basic personal finance skills; its work to encourage credit union employees to promote personal finance education as a product of the credit union; and its efforts to reach some 7,600 young people with lessons on money management.

"Our credit union is committed to helping people acquire the knowledge they need to successfully navigate today's financial services marketplace," said DuPont Community Credit Union President/CEO Gerald Hershey. "Our young people, in particular, need to learn the basics of personal finance, the importance of budgeting, how to use credit wisely and the benefits of saving for the future."

The credit union's success in partnering with 37 schools from preschool through high school also won the praise of the competition judges, as well as its work with 17 other community organizations to develop and deliver personal finance training in its communties. DuPont Community was also commended for its willingness to share its three age-appropriate classroom presentations with its peer credit unions.

DCCU is a not-for-profit financial cooperative and was founded in 1959. The Credit Union currently has over 57,000 members and more than $732 million in assets. DCCU operates nine branches in the Central Shenandoah Valley region. For more information visit our website at www.mydccu.com.

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).