ALAMOSA — Celebrated annually during April’s Financial Literacy Month, Teach Children to Save Day is an opportunity for First Southwest Bank to teach young people in our community the value of saving.

“Familiarizing students with saving fundamentals at an early age increases their ability to set goals, become comfortable with money management, and save more,” said First Southwest Bank CEO Kent Curtis. “Teach Children to Save Day is an opportunity for our employees to give back to our communities.”

During the Teach Children to Save program, First Southwest Bank partnered with 16 classrooms and six schools across Southern Colorado: Alamosa Elementary, Bill Metz Elementary, Kemper Elementary, Pagosa Elementary, Sanford Elementary and Sargent Elementary.

They taught fourth graders the importance of savings goals, tracking finances and delayed gratification.

In the day’s lesson, students hear a story about twin brothers. One is a spender and the other is a saver. The brothers have the same savings goal, but at the end of the story only one reaches it. After listening to the story, students complete a worksheet calculating how much each twin earned, saved, and spent.

“During our lesson, the kids were extremely engaged, the teachers were very receptive, and we’re eager and excited to keep expanding the program,” said First Southwest Bank President Jeni Jack-Goodwin. “Our second year in the program, we’re happy to say Teach Children to Save was once again a resounding success.”

“It was a great lesson to teach students how to start saving early and teach them the value of money early.  The students really enjoyed it,” said Mrs. Phillips and Ms. Sanderson of Sargent Elementary fourth grade.

Established by the American Bankers Association Foundation in 1997, Teach Children to Save Day and the ABA Foundation’s other financial education initiatives has helped reach 8.2 million young people through the commitment of more than 245,000 banker volunteers.

“It was great to be able to volunteer and give back into our community. We look forward to doing this next year and hope to have enough time and volunteers to hit more of our valley schools,” said First Southwest Bank Senior Vice President Delzia Worley.

The next Teach Children to Save program will be in April 2018.

About First Southwest Bank

Serving the San Luis Valley and Southern Colorado for more than 100 years, First Southwest Bank offers personal and business banking, with an emphasis on businesses supporting rural communities, at seven branches. First Southwest Bank is active in our communities, volunteering with more than 40 local organizations, and donating to 115. Focused on building valuable connections and networks, while empowering a healthy and innovative rural Colorado culture, First Southwest Bank fosters community growth, and strengthens social and economic diversity. More information about First Southwest Bank is available at www.fswb.com.