Virginia Credit Union Launches RPS Saves With Richmond Public Schools

Virginia Credit Union and Richmond Public Schools will work together on a program to promote savings and financial education for City students, teachers and staff.

The key component of the program is a savings incentive available to any Richmond Public School student in grades from Pre-K through grade 12. After March 1, a parent or guardian may open a Virginia Credit Union Minor Custodial Savings Account, and Virginia Credit Union will automatically credit the account with a $20 deposit and fund the $5 member share.

Parents may go to vacu.org/rps-saves to open an account.

Virginia Credit Union has committed $350,000 to fund the program and to support it through 2024.

"With community partners like VACU, our students have the opportunity to learn critical life lessons about financial responsibility,” said Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras. “Understanding how money works and cultivating positive qualities like self-discipline and organization are essential for students to become financially responsible adults. We are deeply grateful for the financial investment VACU has made to our RPS families and the community."   

Beyond the savings incentive, Virginia Credit Union is partnering with Richmond Public Schools to make financial education available to students, parents, and RPS staff and teachers.

Virginia Credit Union employees will provide SOL-based financial literacy classes to students in RPS schools. More than 40 Virginia Credit Union staff members have volunteered to be trained and certified to deliver age-appropriate education content in RPS classrooms beginning this Spring. Virginia Credit Union will work with school principals and Communities in Schools to coordinate the classroom instruction. 

In addition, VACU will work with individual schools to schedule Family Financial Literacy Nights where programs for parents on managing finances and credit and a program for students on budgeting and career planning will be offered. For more information or to schedule a program or class, please contact Chris Woodbury, Christopher.Woodbury@vacu.org.

“Financial education is foundational for us,” explains Cherry Dale, VP of Financial Education. “Last year our educational programs reached more than 90,000 people of all ages, which was the most ever. Our financial education team works hard to find opportunities to share information about how to wisely spend, save, borrow and plan for the future.”

Supporting the RPS program is an ongoing expansion of Virginia Credit Union’s branch footprint within the City limits. New branches were opened in Carytown and Scott’s Addition in 2022. A branch on North Adams Street in the City’s arts district will open in Spring 2023. And a VACU location is planned for the former Boys and Girls Club facility on Fairmount Avenue. That facility will be on the same City block that includes the Market @ 25^th grocery store, a VCU Health location and the Flats at 25^th apartments. The Fairmount Branch is expected to open in the 3^rd Quarter of 2023.

The partnership with Richmond Public Schools complements numerous other education programs Virginia Credit Union offers in Richmond. For example, just last year VACU provided a series of lessons to Mayor’s Youth Academy participants, installed kiosks at Richmond Public Library branches with books that teach children about money, and donated books for families to take home at City preschool centers. All of those programs are being repeated in 2023.

“We believe all the financial education partnerships we offer in the City of Richmond are  important opportunities for our credit union to give back and benefit students, families, and the community,” said Dale.

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 feel more confident about their finances. Virginia Credit Union is an equal housing opportunity lender and is federally insured by NCUA.