Press
Redwood Credit Union Offers Teen Banking & Finance Academy
Accredited Program Teaches Financial Skills to Local High School Students
SANTA ROSA, CA (May 29, 2013) Redwood Credit Union (RCU), in partnership with the Sonoma County Office of Education and Santa Rosa City Schools, will offer their 9th Banking & Finance Academy for local high school students. Using the High School Financial Planning Program created by the National Endowment for Financial Education, the program includes helpful topics such as budgeting, financial planning, saving and investing, credit and debt management, and other life skills related to managing money.
The summer Banking & Finance Academy will be held June 11-14 from 9 am – 1 pm at Redwood Credit Union’s Administrative Offices, 3033 Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa. While past Academies have been limited to high school juniors and seniors, eligibility has now been extended to include students entering 10th, 11th or 12th grade at any Sonoma County high school. For online registration, visit www.redwoodcu.org/academy or call RCU at (707) 576-5259 to reserve your space. Enrollment is limited, so students are encouraged to register early. The event is free.
“More than 300 students have graduated from our Banking & Finance Academies, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from students, parents, educators and local elected officials,” said Brett Martinez, President & CEO of RCU. “As a cooperative, providing free access to education and information is one of our guiding principles, and we strongly believe providing financial education—especially at a young age—helps people develop essential money skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.” While the Academies are well-received by the community, it’s Martinez’s vision that financial literacy will soon become a required component of the state high school economics curriculum.
RCU also offers adult financial literacy and outreach programs, and hosts a variety of free educational seminars and events for Members and the community throughout the year.
Founded in 1950, RCU is a full-service financial cooperative, offering competitive financial products and services to fulfill consumer and small business financial needs, including checking and savings accounts, to consumer and mortgage lending, deposits, investments and more. The Credit Union also offers insurance products and discount auto buying. Anyone living or working in the North Bay can benefit from becoming a Member of Redwood Credit Union, which currently serves 225,000 Members with over $2.1 billion in assets. RCU has 18 full-service branch locations from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, please call (707) 545-4000, toll-free 1 (800) 479-7928, or visit www.redwoodcu.org.
In addition to the Academy, RCU is also presenting another financial literacy event called “Bite of Reality” at Chop’s Teen Club in Santa Rosa on June 10th — you can view the “Bite of Reality” press release here.