Louisville Branch of St. Louis Fed Helps Teach Children to Save

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As we work to rebuild our economy, one of the most important investments we can make is in economic and financial education programs for ourselves and our children, and it’s never too early to start.

Volunteers from the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and local banks, during the week of April 7-11, 2014, will head into second-grade classrooms to teach personal finance topics for national Teach Children to Save Day.

The volunteers will teach a lesson based on Less Than Zero, a children’s book by Stuart J. Murphy about a penguin who learns how to save money. Volunteers from the Louisville Branch, five banks and the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions will reach 1,499 students in 64 classrooms in Louisville and Frankfort, Ky.

Teach Children to Save Day is a national initiative that brings financial institutions and financial literacy organizations together to provide basic personal finance education to elementary school students.

Media are invited to attend a session at 2 p.m. April 7 at Carter Traditional Elementary School, 3600 Bohne Ave., Louisville, Ky. 40201. Among those teaching the class that day will be:

• Robin Graf, vice president of Audit - Compliance, First Capital Bank of Kentucky
• Amy Bryant, sales, service and marketing assistant, Stock Yards Bank & Trust
• Lynn Bunn, executive assistant, Louisville Branch of St. Louis Fed
• Erin Yetter, economic education specialist, Louisville Branch of St. Louis Fed

“As we face everyday spending choices, the cost of financial ignorance is high and can lead to high debt, poor credit ratings and low levels of net worth,” said Maria Hampton, regional executive at the Louisville Branch of the St. Louis Fed. “Therefore it is important that we provide our young students with the opportunity to learn to make good financial decisions that will enhance their quality of life.”

Media who would like to attend one of the classes at Carter should contact Ben Jackey, communications specialist at Jefferson County Public Schools by phone at 502-485-3357 or 502-472-1192, or by email at ben.jackey@jefferson.kyschools.us. 

The St. Louis Fed, including the Louisville Branch, is committed to financial literacy in K-12 classrooms. We offer free resources on economics and personal finance for consumers, as well as for teachers and students at all levels, from kindergarten through college.  (Our online courses and curriculum reach about 375,000 students nationwide each year.)  We also provide free professional development opportunities for teachers.   All of our materials can be accessed online at no cost by going to www.stlouisfed.org/education.