VACU Awarded $5,000 in Grant Funding to Expand Financial Education Partnership with Richmond Public Library

Virginia Credit Union has been awarded a $5,000 grant that will be used to expand financial education resources at the Richmond Public Library’s East End branch (25th Street).

VACU’s Tori Filas, a senior financial success educator, worked with library staff to curate a collection of 80 relatable, multicultural books that teach critical personal finance concepts at a level appropriate for students at the pre-K through sixth grade levels.

Those books will be collected and organized in a dedicated specialty kiosk at the East End branch. This will be the fourth such kiosk VACU has created in partnership with the Richmond Public Library system.

Existing kiosks are located in the Library’s West End (Patterson Avenue), Broad Rock (Old Warwick Road) and Main (Franklin Street) branch locations.

“People are always shocked to learn that our spending and saving habits are set by about age seven,” said Filas. “Financial education is so critical in helping young people develop the skills and knowledge needed to make informed financial decisions. Our hope is that these books will teach kids to be smarter about money and how they spend it, save it and share it. We also hope these books spark conversations at home about money, opportunity costs, and how we can differentiate between wants and needs.”

In addition to funding the kiosk, Filas noted that the grant funds will also be used to offer additional financial education resources and programming at the library with the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

The library program fits with VACU’s dedication to building financial confidence at every age by encouraging parents to read and talk about money with their children.

The $5,000 grant was made possible by Vizo Financial, a service partner to more than 1,100 credit unions nationwide, and the Credit Unions Care Foundation of Virginia, a charitable organization formed by Virginia-based credit unions and the Virginia Credit Union League more than a decade ago to support financial education initiatives.

A financial cooperative serving more than 320,000 members, Virginia Credit Union offers a variety of affordable banking services, loans, mortgages, and free financial education resources, with a focus on helping people be more confident with their finances. Virginia Credit Union is an equal housing opportunity lender and is federally insured by NCUA.