A North Dakota credit union manager has developed a project that lets kids get their hands dirty growing and selling fresh produce while nurturing their savings.

Nanci Wilson, member service manager at $172 million asset North Star Community Credit Union in Maddock, N.D., developed “Seeds-2-$ave” following her Credit Union Development Educator (DE) training.

The week-long DE program, held by the National Credit Union Foundation, provides training in cooperative principles, credit union philosophy, and international development. Graduates are encouraged to commit to an effort that reflects credit unions’ people-helping-people philosophy.

“When I left DE training I knew I wanted to do something with youth financial literacy, but I needed some sort of visual for kids to watch their money grow,” Wilson recalls. “While I was on the plane home, I literally came up with Seeds-2-$ave on a Delta napkin with the tagline, ‘teaching our kids to nurture their funds to a bountiful growth.'”

 

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