February 22, 2007 The youth financial education efforts of Maine's credit unions took center stage on Wednesday, February 21, as Donna Steckino, President/CEO of Community CU in Lewiston, was in Washington, D.C., was the only credit union representative in the entire country to serve as a panelist during the two-day, national Summit on K-Postsecondary Financial Education sponsored by the U.S. Treasury and Education Departments.
Steckino, who represented the Credit Union National Association and credit unions, was part of a panel session entitled, "Increasing Financial Literacy Through Classroom Volunteers." She served on a distinguished panel with Morgan Brown, Education Assistant Deputy Secretary, Dan Iannicola, Jr., Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary, Buffy Murphy, Compliance Officer, BancorpSouth, Danny Ng, Director of Capital Markets Technology, E-Trade Financial, and John Scanlon, Executive Vice President of Strategic Growth, Intersections, Inc. Steckino was selected as the only credit union representative to participate in the Summit as a result of the leadership role, along with several other Maine credit union leaders and the Maine CU League, she had in establishing Maine's first-ever Youth Financial Fitness Fair, which was held in Lewiston/Auburn in 2004. Since then, there have been four other Youth Financial Fitness Fairs held in southern Maine and in Bangor, and three more fairs will be held in Lewiston/Auburn, Augusta/Waterville, and Bangor this spring.
"What Maine credit unions are doing to promote youth financial education is drawing nationwide attention and praise, and what Donna, her Chapter and the League are doing through the Youth Financial Education Fair is a great example to discuss at this Summit," explained Mary Dunn, Senior Vice President of the Credit Union National Association, on why Maine and Steckino were selected to appear.
During her remarks, Steckino explained that the Youth Financial Education Fair for high school students was an outgrowth of the chapter's in-classroom instruction using the National Endowment for Financial Education's (NEFE) High School Financial Planning Program and outlined how the Fair worked. "On the day of the fair, students get budget worksheets with salaries based on their career choices and through visits to various booths, such as housing, transportation and credit," said Steckino. "Students are asked to make real life choices and experience the exercise of balancing their budget on income allocated from their career choices." As the fair progresses, students learn the effects of their choices, such as the sports car, home or vacation they cannot initially afford, she said. Volunteer coaches then guide the students through various options to bring their budgets back in line. "Aside from the financial benefit, the message usually comes through loud and clear: 'I need a better education to obtain a better lifestyle'," said Steckino.
Of the important and proactive role Maine's credit unions are taking in youth financial education, Steckino commented, "Helping people help themselves through financial independence is what credit unions are all about; it's why we're in business," she said. "These one day fairs and ongoing financial education programs are an effective and low cost way through experiential learning to help today's youth become more fiscally responsible adults."
Maine Credit Union League President John Murphy, who recommended Steckino to participate in the Summit, said, "Donna is a passionate spokesperson on the importance of youth financial education and to have her represent Maine CUs and credit unions nationwide at this national summit is an honor and reflects positively on what your League and credit unions across Maine are doing to expand youth financial education."
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