This summer, many area teens were home with little to do, so Travis Credit Union unveiled a fully remote program for them called the Back-to-School Challenge. The Challenge was “a digital financial education program to complement distance learning to help families and guardians,” said Damian Alarcon, Director of Community Relations for Travis. It was designed to support our mission of free financial education, while following COVID-19 safety and social distancing best practices.
Taking the Challenge
The Challenge included four weeks of engaging activities that taught teens about the four pillars of financial competency: Plan, Save, Spend, and Borrow. We encouraged teens to register and participate in each weekly activity by offering prizes for the first 1,500 to complete the entire challenge. Those completing all four parts by the deadline were entered in a random drawing to win the Grand Prize: a new laptop!
The Winner
We announced the laptop winner live on Sept. 16, during a virtual “Back-to-School Rally.” Congratulations to Brianna Reyes of Bay Point!
Marivel Branco, Branch Manager of Travis Credit Union in Antioch [left] with Brianna Reyes, student at Pleasant Hill Middle School.
It was an especially sweet win: in working through the challenge and thinking about her financial goals, Brianna had listed “buying a new laptop” as one of her mid-term financial goals. She revealed her long-term goal is going to college.
Currently a student at Pleasant Hill Middle School, Brianna offered this advice to other teens on how to spend their money: “Spend your money on what you know for sure is worth it."
Thanks to everyone who participated!