Over the last four years, Montecito Bank & Trust has supported national Teach Children to Save Day with a commitment to reach an increasing number of students each year. Today, Thursday, May 20, the bank far exceeded its 2010 goal of reaching 1000 students by actually teaching 1800 students, financial education and promoting financial responsibility. Because this year’s American Bankers Association’s national Teach Children to Save Day presented a scheduling conflict due to mandatory testing in the Santa Barbara city school district, Montecito Bank & Trust worked with Santa Barbara County and Ventura County to select May 20th as the teaching date.
In 2009 Montecito Bank & Trust had 36 of its associates teaching 750 school kids all in a single day, but a bank-wide challenge was sent to associates to exceed last year’s numbers with a target challenge of teaching 1000 kids. Today, 64 bank associates taught 1800 kids ranging from grades K through 12, in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Ventura and Westlake Village. Janet A. Garufis, president and chief executive officer taught two classes at Santa Barbara High School enjoying herself immensely.
The goals of the day included teaching children the importance of saving, how to plan for their purchases, and how to make their money grow. Older children learned about the compounding of interest, budgeting for things like college and buying a car, and some credit card basics.
"Studies show that kids aren’t learning the skills they need to make smart financial decisions as adults," said Janet A. Garufis, president and chief executive officer of Montecito Bank & Trust. "Communities and schools teach other life skills, such as driving a car, but we don’t spend enough time teaching financial skills. Bankers are in the schools today to help fill that gap and prepare future customers for financial success. This is more critical today than ever. I am so proud of our associates for their hard work in preparing for today and in exceeding our bank-wide challenge goal. There will be wonderful stories to share in the bank, and today is especially memorable for our associates who visited their child’s classroom. Our plans for financial education support are growing into a greater effort as schools reach out to us for more financial education help. Because of these requests, we are dedicating time to create a broader outreach. It is just another example of how Montecito Bank & Trust connects with its local communities."
Today’s presentations included games and activities about the concept of saving, how interest makes money grow, how to budget and determining needs and wants.
The following tips were also offered to parents to make every day "Savings Day."
1. Help kids open up their own bank savings account and make deposits regularly.
2. Make going to the bank fun.
3. Kids love to get mail, so encourage them to keep an eye out for their statement.
4. Talk to your child about the family budget.
National Teach Children to Save Day which began in 1997 is part of the American Bankers Association Education Foundation’s Teach Children to Save Program, committed to developing and providing education programs that lead to financial literacy. Each year thousands of bankers across the country trade in their balance sheets for blackboards to help fill the need for financial education in schools. The program’s goal is to encourage bankers to reach 5 million students before the end of 2011. Montecito Bank & Trust is working hard to help achieve this worthy goal.
Twenty-one different schools received a visit from Montecito Bank & Trust and in Santa Barbara County including Aliso, Cesar Chavez Charter School, Dos Pueblos High, Ellwood, Franklin, Hollister, Isla Vista, La Colina Junior High, La Cumbre Junior High, La Patera, Marymount, McKinley, Mountain View, Notre Dame, San Marcos High, Santa Barbara High, Santa Barbara Junior High, Sunset Middle School. In Ventura County, Montalvo Elementary, Sunset Middle School and White Oak Elementary.
Montecito Bank & Trust, an S Corporation, is a locally owned community bank founded in 1975, and proudly celebrating its 35th anniversary. It is known for its ongoing support of the community through unique giving programs such as Community Dividends® and Anniversary Grants®. The bank has branch offices in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Solvang, Montecito, Carpinteria, Ventura and Westlake Village. We offer a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and consumers including consumer loans, business loans and lines of credit, SBA loans, credit cards, merchant services, online and mobile banking, and cash management. Our Wealth Management Division, located in Montecito, Solvang and Ventura, provides full investment management as well as trust and estate services for all of the bank’s branch office markets.
Montecito Bank & Trust has been designated a Super Premier or Premier Performing Bank for the last ten years by The Findley Reports, an independent service which rates the financial performance of California banks.
For more information, please contact Carolyn C. Tulloh, Director of Marketing at (805) 564-0252 or ctulloh@montecito.com