Project Updates

05/04/2009

In the heat of this recession, business is steady at the Darter Dollar$ branch of Pennies for Power Youth Credit Union in Apopka. In March and April, 10 new students opened savings accounts and started building their nest eggs. The student operators (some of whom posed for the pictures above) gave a combined total of more than 15 classroom presentations over the last two months to spread the word about our project, educate their peers about the importance of saving, encourage their peers to open accounts. Their hard work paid off as we saw a spike in membership during the week or two after our presentations. Congratulations crew!

The student operators also recently held elections to solidify their leadership for next year. Congratulations to sophomore, Maria Uribe, and junior Pedro Cordero who were elected as president and vice president respectively to carry the toarch for the Darter Dollar$ branch next year!

The remaining above photos above show our credit union office ready for operation. The first shows our storefront as all students see it when we operate on Tuesdays during lunch. The second shows a behind the scenes view of our "office" behind the third vending window in the Apopka High lunchroom. Not too shabby, eh?

Darter Dollar$!.JPG
Our Office.JPG
03/06/2009

I have calculated some official statistics to track our progress and the run-down is as follows:

Since opening at Apopka High School on January 20, 2009, our credit union has opened 20 new accounts and taken over $400 dollars worth of deposits. We also have not made a single withdrawal, which indicates that the students and children are depositing to save.

Right when the credit union opened, my students made a video commercial that aired on the Apopka High School news (Darter News Network) to get the word out about the credit union. (I don't have a digital copy of this video yet, but when I get one, I will try to post it here.) The week after the commercial, we had a big wave of account openings which we are now noticing is being followed by a bit of a slump. We are currently working on some short classroom presentation that the students will give in pairs in a number of different classrooms to continue our effort to get the AHS student body and faculty aware of and involved in our credit union. We plan to start giving our presentations in classrooms in the second half of March.

We have also started talking about how to set and work toward savings goals by making a personal budget. I have asked my students to track their expenses and their revenues for one week as a confidential exercise to help them evaluate their spending habits. I plan to talk more specifically about saving for college in the weeks to come.

The students are working hard and in February logged a combined total of about 175 volunteer hours for this project! I am privileged to work with such a dedicated group high schoolers! We will keep you posted about our progress!

02/12/2009

The Pennies for Power youth credit union is up and running and looking for new members! On January 20, 2009 Pennies for Power opened a branch at Apopka High School called Darter Dollar$. Darter Dollar$ is operated by a group of AHS students and is open every Tuesday during all lunch shifts. Students can open accounts and make weekly deposits right at school. This is a safe and convenient way for them to build their savings to prepare for expenses after graduation.

In addition to the new branch at AHS, Pennies for Power continues to operate on Mondays and Fridays from 4-6pm at Community Trust Federal Credit Union. Pennies for Power offers savings accounts for all youth 18 years and under to help them develop the savings habit and prepare for their futures. Youth can open their own accounts or parents may also start savings account for their children. You only need $5 to open an account. It’s never a bad time to start saving!

Penneis Logo.bmp
Pedro's Logo 1.JPG