Released: February 22, 2007

Extension Program Encourages Children to Save Change

GARDEN CITY, KAN. – A new program for students will encourage saving change and using it to start a savings account, said Linda Walter, Kansas State University Research and Extension family and consumer sciences agent in Finney County.

Learning to save at an early age is the first step in financial security later in life, she said.

Walter also is working with local financial service providers, the ministerial alliance and community agencies (the crisis pregnancy center, for example) to teach savings and money management tips as part of Kansas Saves, a savings awareness campaign drawn from America Saves, a national effort sponsored by the Consumer Federation of America.

To reach children, she is organizing “Save Your Change Day” March 2.

Scheduled from 2:30 to 4 p.m. as parent-teacher conferences conclude, first through sixth graders are invited to bring their change to the Garden City Recreation Center for a lesson in money management.

Organizers will use an automated counting machine on site to count students’ change, then give the student a receipt to verify their “savings” and encourage them to use some of their savings to open a savings account, Walter said.

Students opening accounts (at a financial service provider of their choice) within the following two weeks will receive a personal calculator and be eligible for a drawing for a $100 U.S. Savings Bond to add to their savings.

While there, students will have an opportunity to personalize a ceramic piggy bank for future savings, said Walter, who applied for a grant from the Consumer Federation of America to fund the savings lesson.

The Garden City Co-op is providing the savings bond and also helping to sponsor the event, she said.

To further encourage saving, the Finney County Fair will offer a competitive arts and crafts class for decorated piggy banks this year, Walter said.

For more information, contact the K-State Research and Extension office in Finney County. More information on basic financial management – saving and spending – is available at K-State Research and Extension offices throughout the state and on Extension’s Web site: www.oznet.ksu.edu.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Nancy Peterson
nancyp@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News