NEWS RELEASE 2010
ABA Media Contact: Marquita Powell  
(202) 663-5418
E-mail: mpowell@aba.com   
TeachChildrentoSave.com |   facebook.com/ABAEF

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 – The American Bankers Association Education Foundation announced the top Teach Children to Save banks that will receive a $1,000 donation to present to a deserving group of their choice.

"We commend these banks for their extraordinary volunteer efforts, especially at a time when a banker's day job is so demanding," said Laura Fisher, executive director the ABA Education Foundation which sponsors the Teach Children to Save program. "The popularity of Teach Children to Save shows that bankers are more than givers, they're also doers.  Bringing saving education to the classroom creates an authentic experience that we hope students will remember for years to come."
 
Earlier this year the ABA Education Foundation initiated the Teach Children to Save contest, promising the top-performing ABA member banks and one new participant $1,000 to donate to an organization of their choice. The contest was designed to build off of the momentum set in 2009 when bankers reached 1 million students nationally with financial education as part of the Teach Children to Save Million Child Challenge.

To select the institutions that reached the most students, all registered ABA member banks were divided into three asset categories and judged accordingly: less than $100 million, $100 million-$250 million, and more than $250 million. An additional bank was randomly selected from a list of first-time participants. Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, the overall winner, reached more students with Teach Children to Save lessons than any other bank in the nation. In all, bankers reached 703,992 students with savings education lessons in 2010.

Donations will be presented on behalf of the following banks:

            Sugar River Bank (Newport, N.H.)
            New Participant Category

            First National Bank (Byers, Texas)
           1,001 Students Reached
            Under $100 Million Category

            Peoples Savings Bank (Rhineland, Mo.)
            1,244 Students Reached
            $100 Million-$250 Million Category

             Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (San Juan)
             124,588 Students Reached
             More than $250 Million Category and Overall Winner

The Teach Children to Save program is a national campaign that raises awareness about the role that banks and bankers play in helping young people develop lifelong savings habits. Since 1997, the campaign has reached 3.4 million young people with the help of some 80,000 banker volunteers, an annual awareness day ‐‐ Teach Children to Save Day ‐‐ and the Teach Children to Save Web site: www.teachchildrentosave.com. Visit www.abaef.com for more information. 

The ABA Education Foundation provides financial education programs and resources that help bankers make their communities better. Nearly 100,000 bankers have taught basic finance skills to about 4 million young people through participation in the Foundation's signature programs, Teach Children to Save and Get Smart About Credit. Founded by bankers in 1925, the foundation is guided by a board of bankers and is an affiliate of the American Bankers Association.

For more information, visit www.abaef.com or call 1-800-BANKERS. 

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