100,000 Kids Later: Celebrating Citi's Commitment to Youth Financial Empowerment

A child with a savings account is four times more likely to graduate from college. That's the difference a relationship with a financial institution can make. At Citi, we want to be that difference in a child's life. And that's why we're an active member of the Teach Children to Save campaign.

Teach Children to Save is the banking industry's largest volunteer effort to encourage youth savings. By visiting classrooms, youth centers, after-school programs and more, bankers use their real-world knowledge and professional skills to encourage kids to start young and save more.

Citi colleagues have a special opportunity to reach out to young people and leverage our expertise as financial professionals to prepare young savers and their caretakers with the tools and knowledge to build strong financial futures. Financial literacy is the pathway to a college education and many other important opportunities, including homeownership and saving for retirement and emergencies.

In our 16-year partnership with the American Bankers Association, Citi employees have reached over 100,000 young people through the Teach Children to Save initiative.

This spring alone, 400 Citi volunteers traded balance sheets for blackboards to teach students personal finance skills through a variety of immersive activities, interactive scenarios and by sharing their real-life experiences. Through these efforts, our volunteers reached 6,000 students across the United States, with 5,000 from low-and moderate-income households.

In the true Citi spirit of providing fresh concepts for volunteers and innovative outreach to the communities they serve, we partnered with the ABA Foundation and First Book in a new Book Award Program, hosting events in Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Bridgeport, CT and Chicago. These events took the Teach Children to Save campaign to the next level by donating financial-themed books to students and school libraries so they can continue to boost financial education both in school and at home.

By mobilizing the broad, diverse expertise of Citi employees, we're proud to empower the country's youth to enter adulthood with a solid understanding of financial concepts and the tools to build a strong financial identity.