Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Getting The Word Out!



Today was a great day for Moonjar! We started by opening the package with our new award from AEP (Association of Education Publishers). We won for our Classroom Kit and new math curriculum K-5. It is an amazing feeling to work so hard with our little team and then to watch as the larger world responds so positively to our work. Thank you AEP! We are so proud.

The next step today was an appearance on NEW DAY NORTHWEST talking about kids and money with our friend Sheri Storm from Verity Credit Union. It was so exciting to see the reaction from people who had never heard of a Moonjar Moneybox and once again to realize that our best marketing effort is through the kids and families who use the Moonjars.It is your stories that carry us on. I am always excited when a child comes into the office to get a Moonjar and he or she tells me why the Moonjar is important to him or her. Those stories are what we carry into the moments when we get to speak about money on television! Today I had the story of a little girl who wanted a Moonjar for the SHARE BOX. She wanted to share with her friend by getting her a new zoo pass. The passion she had for making sure her friend got to go back to see the penguins was inspirational to me. The other story I carried into this interview was about my daughter when she was almost 10 years and I brought home a Moonjar. She cut out about 20 pictures of a red car and taped those pictures all over her SAVE box as a visual goal for her savings plan. My daughter is almost 16 now and although it might not be a new car she could very well have saved enough to consider that conversation.

The third great moment today was when we took a look at a map of all the wonderful Credit Unions who reach out to teach kids about money. There are so many amazing efforts afoot to raise financially fit kids. We are proud to be among these forward thinkers. We signed up for the Jumpstart Educators Conference today which is a great place to learn all the latest steps in financial literacy on a governmental level. We are also preparing Standard Moonajrs to make a showing at the National Youth Involvement Board annual meeting later this month. This is a group that exsists to
share ideas around Credit Union Youth efforts. Today was a big day.

So as you enjoy the summer please remember to help us spread the word about Youth Financial Literacy and Moonjar! Thank you as always for your support!!