HOULTON – Throughout April, bankers from Katahdin Trust Company will start children throughout northern and central Maine on the path to a positive financial future by participating in the 17th annual Teach Children to Save Day, a nationwide event to teach children their financial ABC’s.
“Education and hands-on money experience are critical to ensuring a new wave of smart money managers,” said Vicki Smith, Katahdin Trust Company senior vice president of marketing and communications, who oversees the bank’s efforts in the program. “We want parents to know that saving is important and everyone can do it, even kids. Teach Children to Save Day starts children off on the right path to saving for their future and is an important service that we can provide in our community – to our friends, neighbors, and customers.”
Katahdin Trust Company employees are delighted to participate in conjunction with area teachers in helping children understand basic financial principles and the importance of a savings program, not just for today but for their futures.
The following 24 Katahdin Trust Company employees will be reaching out to over 690 students across northern and central Maine: Crystal Parent, Eagle Lake Elementary School; Lisa More and Cindy Drew, Katahdin Elementary School; Sam Hiscoe, Mill Pond Elementary School, Hodgdon; Karen MacDonald, Ashland District School; Sam Clockedile, Fort Fairfield Elementary School; Paula Bernier, Rena Bouchard, Jenny Charette, Devin Rolph, Selma Phair, and Crystal Levesque, Limestone Community School; Mandi Noyes and Lori Nadeau, RSU 50, Dyer Brook; Jana Shaw and Shelly McHatten, Teague Park School, Caribou; Janet Lane and Sonya Walker, Glenburn Elementary; Jennifer Craig, Caribou High School; Eunice McAfee, Brewer Community School; Jenny Charette, Washburn Elementary School; Jennifer Craig, Teague Park School; Debra Cyr, Van Buren District School; Jennifer Collins, Houlton Elementary School; and Joe Clukey, Pine Street Elementary School, Presque Isle.
Katahdin Trust Company offers the following tips for money-savvy parents raising money-smart kids:
• Set the example of a responsible money manager by paying bills on time, being a conscientious spender and an active saver. Children tend to emulate their parents’ personal finance habits.
Talk openly about money with your kids. Communicate your values and experiences with money. Encourage them to ask you questions, and be prepared to answer them – even the tough ones.
• Explain the difference between needs and wants, the value of saving and budgeting and the consequences of not doing so.
• Open a savings account at your local bank for your children and take them with you to make deposits, so they can learn how to be hands-on in their money management.
Give your kids positive feedback. As they get older, give them responsibility over how they spend their money
Since its inception in 1997, the American Bankers Association Education Foundation’s Teach Children to Save Day has reached more than 5 million young people with the help of some 120,000 plus banker volunteers. Learn more at the Teach Children to Save website: www.teachchildrentosave.com.
