North Dakota And California Leagues Honored With First Desjardins Awards

December 4, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:Phil Heckman
(608)2231-4088

MADISON, WI – The national awards committee of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) has chosen the North Dakota Credit Union League and the California Credit Union League to receive the first Desjardins Youth Financial Education Awards. The awards recognize leadership within the credit union movement on behalf of financial literacy as well as use of the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program® (HSFPP).

"Winning this award truly represents the devotion and enthusiasm our league staff, credit union employees, and volunteers have towards youth finance education and the positive impact they have on shaping the future of our young people," says Buell Reich, President of the North Dakota Credit Union League & Affiliates.

"The California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues are delighted to be among the first-time winners of the Desjardins Award," said David L. Chatfield, League president and CEO. "We have greatly expanded our efforts in the past several years in youth financial education, by hosting workshops on the High School Financial Planning Program of the National Endowment for Financial Education, supporting the work of the California Youth Involvement Network, and partnering with the Richard Myles Johnson Foundation to promote financial literacy. We are honored to be recognized for the work we have done, and will continue our contributions to the cause of ensuring that California and Nevada's youth are financially informed consumers."

The Desjardins Award is named in honor of Alphonse Desjardins, the founder of the North American credit union movement. It considers all activities supporting the personal finance education of young members and nonmembers, including, but not limited to, face-to-face teaching, publicity, lobbying for curriculum requirements, teacher and volunteer training, and promotion and use of the HSFPP.

Desjardins established the first "caisse populaire" (people's bank) in Quebec in 1900, and helped establish the first American credit union in New Hampshire in 1909. He was an ardent believer in the value of teaching children to save, and he actively promoted the idea of in-school savings programs (caisses scolaires).

The awards will be presented at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference in conjunction with the Maxwell, Herring, and Bridge Awards. For more information about the 2001 Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award or the HSFPP, contact Philip Heckman at 800-356-9655, ext. 4088.

With its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, Credit Union National Association serves more than 90% of America's 10,000 credit unions, which are owned by more than 80 million consumer members. Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives where people are worth more than money. For more information, visit www.cuna.org.

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