Abound Credit Union (formerly Fort Knox Federal Credit Union) received national recognition in Washington, DC last week during an industry conference. The Credit Union was a 2019 award recipient of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Alphonse Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award. The Credit Union received an honorable mention in the more than $1 billion asset category.
Becky Ates, Executive Vice President of Abound Credit Union, accepted the award on behalf of the not-for-profit cooperative.
Ates has dedicated her 36-year career to the Credit Union’s mission of improving members’ financial lives and has been an ongoing advocate of financial education initiatives, including the new state-mandated financial literacy requirement going into effect later this year for high schoolers. She also spearheaded a team to develop the youth financial literacy program that earned the Credit Union this national recognition.
Specifically, the award recognized Abound Credit Union’s development of the VAULT, an interactive financial literacy program, empowering students to be smart financial decision makers. This digital program consists of six 30-minute lessons and was developed for 4th-6th graders. Learning resources include supplemental lesson plans, engaging discussion guides, and real-time student score reports to assist teachers in the classroom. During the 2019-2020 school year, ten schools and 1,347 students are participating in the VAULT program with 2,969 hours of learning dedicated to financial education. The Credit Union plans to continue rolling out the VAULT program to additional schools.
“At Abound Credit Union, we are committed to sharing our strength and helping Kentuckians achieve more. By teaching children to be smarter financial decision makers early on, we’re making a long-term impact that will help their families and entire communities thrive,” said Becky Ates, Executive Vice President of Abound Credit Union. “During the 2020-2021 school year, high schoolers throughout the state will also have access to financial literacy programs because of our support.”
In addition to the Credit Union’s youth initiatives, a full-range of online educational tools are available for adults at aboundcu.com. The Credit Union also hosts an annual Operation Veterans 2 Entrepreneurs event, in partnership with the SBDC, to provide mission critical information to help veterans build and grow their small businesses.
Becky Ates, EVP of Abound Credit Union and Jim Nussle, President/CEO of CUNA.
