PITTSFIELD, Mass. — MyCom Federal Credit Union partnered with Morningside Community School to give third-grade students hands-on lessons in financial literacy by challenging them to create advertisements highlighting the credit union’s mission and services.
According to the $27.4-million credit union, six students from Megan Trivilino’s third-grade class participated in the Junior Marketers Create an Ad program, organized by math interventionist Billie Jo Lamoureaux.
During the classroom visit, MyCom employees taught students about saving, loans, credit and financial responsibility, including the importance of making loan payments on time and avoiding excessive debt.
‘The Mission’
“The mission is to help our members, help the community, give back to the community, and help our members grow,” MyCom President and CEO Lisa Laughnane said in a statement released by the credit union.
Laughnane said the credit union focuses on listening to members’ needs and putting them first. She also explained that, unlike banks, credit unions are member-owned, allowing earnings to be returned to members through benefits such as lower loan rates and higher savings rates.
“It’s important to have an organization like MyCom in the community because it is always looking to give back and help the community grow, whether it’s through volunteering, sponsoring, or donations,” Laughnane said.
How One Third Grader Explains It
Students incorporated those lessons into drawings featuring piggy banks, savings accounts and loans used to purchase vehicles and other necessities.
“They make people bank accounts, and the people put the money in it, and they save it over the years, so they can have it for the future so they can do something very good with it, like college,” third-grader Aurora Rose Winters said.
Laughnane said selecting the winners was difficult because the students demonstrated a strong understanding of the credit union’s mission and the loan process.
“They did a phenomenal job. They really put the idea of MyCom and understood the loan process,” she said.
The Winners
MyCom selected Egyabenle “Ben” Borto as the first-place winner, followed by Kiara Quintuna Munoz in second place and Jaden Winner Bikooumou in third.
Ben said his drawing illustrated how the credit union helps community members purchase items they need through loans that are repaid over time. Kiara’s artwork emphasized the value of saving money, while Winner’s drawing showed how saving can help people achieve goals such as buying a car or home.
A video on the project can be viewed here.
