April 30, 2007 -- Approximately 21,000 school-age children will celebrate National Financial Literacy Month by together saving more than $1 million in allowance, lemonade-stand revenue, and other cash, organizers announced this week.
This year's Save for America, a program launched 27 years ago by the Department of Education to teach children the value of financial savings, will see children in 400 schools across the U.S. opening real savings accounts and depositing everything from coin collections to babysitting cash. Last year, children in participating schools saved a total of $1.16 million. Both large and small national banks are joining the effort by providing teaching materials on finance for grade-school level students.
"If we can teach our children in grade school to be financially solvent, a great many of America's social problems will diminish," Stephan Avena, president of Save for America, said in statement.