NEWS RELEASE 2010
ABA Media Contact: Marquita Powell  

(202) 663-5418
E-mail: mpowell@aba.com    

TeachChildrentoSave.com |  facebook.com/ABAEF

LIGHTS, CAMERA, SAVE!
Bankers Take New Approach to Get Kids Saving

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 -- Today the ABA Education Foundation announced the launch of its new initiative:  Lights, Camera, Save!, a first-of-its-kind video contest designed to get kids thinking creatively about saving money.

“The best way to connect with young people is through something they enjoy or can relate to,” explains Laura Fisher, director of the ABA Education Foundation, the group that sponsors the program. “Saving education is typically pretty dry, so this is a great opportunity to liven things up.”  

The video contest, an offshoot of the ABA Education Foundation’s Teach Children to Save program, is a unique competition that encourages youth to use video to communicate the value of saving and inspire others to become lifelong savers. Banks will host the local level of the competition and will select a winner to represent their bank and compete on the national level for a $3,000, $1,500 or $500 U.S. savings bond or an iPod® Touch.

"We hope teens have fun, but more importantly we hope they take the contest’s theme to heart and ‘start young, save more,’” Fisher adds.

To compete, teens aged 13-16 will contact a local participating bank for a Contestant Entry Packet and record and submit video along with all applicable forms during the contest period, September 1 through November 1. For additional information on Lights, Camera, Save! and how to get involved, visit www.TeachChildrentoSave.com and look for the Lights, Camera, Save! icon in the top right corner. [List of Participating Banks]

The Teach Children to Save program is a national campaign that organizes banker volunteers to educate young people about the importance of developing a lifelong savings habit. Since 1997, the campaign has reached 3.4 million young people through the dedication of some 80,000 banker volunteers who visit classrooms on the annual Teach Children to Save Day and year-round. 

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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[Note to editor: List of Participating Banks: /aba/documents/press/abaef/LCSBanks.pdf]