Northwest Federal Credit Union Wins Financial Education Award for School Assembly Program

HERNDON, VA (12/22/2011)(readMedia)-- Northwest Federal Credit Union has won Honorable Mention in the state 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 in their communities.

The credit union's award-winning entry showcased its school assembly program -- Westie in the Schools -- a fun, interactive assembly that teaches elementary aged students how to save, spend and share money wisely.

In 2010, Northwest Federal Credit Union published a children's book, Westie's Triple Decker Decision,written by credit union employee Joelle Hahn and made available for sale to our membership with proceeds benefiting the Northwest Federal Credit Union Foundation (NWFCU Foundation).

To expand the reach of the book, NWFCU Foundation created the school assembly, which saw immediate success, reaching 1,000 students through presentations at two local elementary schools.

The financial lesson of "spend, save, share" is clear and concise through the performance, and children remember the messages through a variety of educational techniques: visual learning through the projected images of the book on-screen; auditory learning through the book reading; and visual learning through sign language as an additional memory device.

Throughout the performance, the children learn the American Sign Language signs for the words save, spend and share. To reinforce the saving and sharing lessons, each student took home their own copy of Westie's Triple Decker Decision, which includes tips for parents to teach financial education to their children.

"Talking about money and financial matters is often a difficult subject for parents to address with their children," says Northwest Federal Credit Union President/CEO Gerrianne Burks. "Our credit union has worked to break down that wall by teaching parents how to speak to their children about money and we've also worked to reach children directly through fun, interactive programs that teach basic personal finance concepts."

Northwest Federal Credit Union is a full-service financial institution serving select government employees and 500-plus companies throughout Northern Virginia. Established in 1947 and headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, NWFCU is dedicated to providing financial services and education to its members and the community. The credit union currently serves more than 108,000 members and has assets in excess of $2 billion. For more information, visit www.nwfcu.org.

The Northwest Federal Credit Union Foundation was established in 2004 to promote and manage Northwest Federal Credit Union's philanthropic activities as well as to direct financial literacy and other charitable programs, which reflect the interests of its membership and the communities it serves. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax deductible to the extent permissible by law for those who itemize deductions.

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).