Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9503030011
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: AIMEE RATLIFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Troutville Elementary students in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades crowded around the library table where Michelle Alexander, program coordinator, and Linda McMillan, Troutville branch manager, were accepting deposits.
On this day, students deposited $350.50 in their savings accounts.
Fourth-grader Courtney Caudill, 9, said she is going to spend some of her savings on a cruise to the Bahamas with her family.
Trips to Disney World are popular with fourth-graders Amy Barnett, 9, and Evie Anderson, 10.
And, even though they are years away from driving cars, other students said they are saving for their own modes of transportation. Heather Brown, 9, a fourth-grader, talked of her dreams of owning a horse. Fifth-grader Andrew Moore, 10 is saving for a dirt bike.
Fifth-grader Hope Rhea, l0, doesn't have specific reasons for saving. She said she would just spend the money if it were at home.
The savings program began as a result of a business-education partnership between the bank and Eagle Rock Elementary School.
``During the annual meeting between bank and school officials in the summer of 1993, Lois Faddis, the principal at Eagle Rock Elementary, proposed the idea of developing some type of savings program for the children to learn the value of saving money on a regular basis,'' Alexander said.
With the support of staff on both ends, Alexander implemented the idea in the fall of 1993 at Eagle Rock. Buchanan Elementary joined in the spring of 1994, and Troutville Elementary joined in the fall of 1994. Organizers say Troutville has the largest participation.
The program now has 175 savers who have deposited about $5,000.
``It has encouraged the students to save on a long-term basis and toward the future, instead of short term and for something they don't need,'' Faddis said.
The program begins with a presentation from Alexander. The students are taught about the program and the basics of keeping a savings account.
The parents are notified, and, with parental permission, an account is opened. Parents must sign an agreement allowing the principal to serve as the custodian of the account while the child is at that school. At the end of the sixth grade, the principal is replaced by the parent as the custodian on the account.
``Last year, nearly 100 percent of the sixth-grade accounts remained active as the parents' names were added and new signature cards created," said Alexander, who often is referred to as the ``bank lady'' by her young customers.
Each depositor has a savings book and deposit slips that are kept by the bank for the monthly visits by Alexander and another bank.
A day or two prior to the bank visit, Alexander delivers reminder letters and bank statements, showing the balance and the interest that has compounded on each account.
Every child who makes a deposit receives a validated receipt and a lollipop. The principal delivers the money and deposit slips to the Bank of Buchanan before 2 p.m.
``I'm impressed with how seriously the students have taken the program. We've only had one withdrawal since the start,'' said Sandra Tunnell, Troutville Elementary principal.
``Each school has its own personality. Eagle Rock students have a definite plan for saving money,'' Alexander said. ``Erastus and Michael Hylton, who are brothers, are saving money to buy a calf to raise, and they remind me of this every time we visit that school.
``Troutville students are very inquisitive and often ask if their money is insured or if the bank has ever been robbed, which it has not. There is also a concern of what happens to their money over the summer, so I send them a statement and highlight the interest they've earned, so they will know their money is safe while they're away."
The Bank of Buchanan also has a business-education partnership with Botetourt Intermediate, which includes seventh and eighth grades.
"The more opportunities like this that we can offer ... the better-educated consumer base it's going to be down the road,'' Alexander said.
by CNB