Synergy One Federal Credit Union Captures State Honor for Teaching Young People Personal Finance Basics

MANASSAS, VA (11/06/2009)(readMedia)-- Synergy One Federal Credit Union has won a 1st 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.

Synergy One was recognized for its innovative and industry-leading financial literacy initiatives, including its "Making It Real!" events that teach high school students real-world money management and budgeting skills. The credit union has invested $60,000 and 700 volunteer hours annually in running the events at seven high schools since May 2006, reaching 1,000 students. The credit union also sponsors three student-run credit unions in Prince William County schools.

The credit union also measures the impact of its "Making It Real!" events with questionnaires that show students do take away life lessons on managing money and budgeting wisely.

"I think it's important to ask ourselves if we're preparing our young people for the real world and all the financial responsibilities they will face," says William H. White, President/CEO of Synergy One Federal Credit Union. "In follow-up questionnaires we conduct after each of our 'Making It Real' events, the vast majority of these teens said they had no idea how expensive it was to live even moderately in today's world. But they also tell us that they're taking away a real appreciation for the importance of living within your means, planning for the future and spending money wisely."

Synergy One Federal Credit Union is a $183 million member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative headquartered in Manassas. The credit union has previously won awards at both the state and national levels for its financial education initiatives, and has won the state-level Desjardins award every year dating back to award program's inception in 2002. Visit www.synergyonefcu.org to learn more about the credit union.

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).