First Tech Credit Union and Oregon Community Credit Union joined forces with brass|MEDIA Inc. to provide free personal finance resources and instructional materials to Oregon students and teachers.
The brass|STUDENT PROGRAM-Oregon is a statewide initiative to strengthen high school students' understanding of money and help prepare Oregon's next generation to make sound financial decisions.
"Given the current economic crisis, there are opportunities for credit unions in reaching young adults because personal finance has such a high relevance. Now is the perfect time for credit unions to engage that audience," said Bryan Sims, the 25-year-old founder/CEO of brass.
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The brass|STUDENT PROGRAM first launched in 2006 after teachers in New York received a copy of brass|MAGAZINE from a staff member of the New York State Education Department. Since its start in New York, the program has expanded to public high schools in Wisconsin and Oregon.
Developed to make money an interesting and relevant topic in the classroom, the program reaches students and teachers through the Web, video and brass' flagship publication, brass|MAGAZINE, a lifestyle money magazine written for young adults by young adults.
"We are excited to bring the brass|STUDENT PROGRAM to our home state," said Sims. "With state budget setbacks, some of which include teachers, we and the credit unions are providing free resources to the students and teachers at a time of need. Understanding how money works is an essential life skill, but many young adults never receive adequate training on how to make money work for them."
In addition to providing every public high school statewide with classroom sets of brass|MAGAZINE student edition, the program offers an online teacher resource center. The interactive Web site connects educators across the nation and provides project-based lesson plans and questioning strategies based on content and articles from brass|MAGAZINE. Sims said all activities were developed in conjunction with state and national standards for financial education.
Viewed as a work in progress, a few things have been added to the Oregon program. Besides providing digital access to the magazine, the student resource center will include the brass Show, an online video podcast that covers money and real world issues. Sims said it is yet another way to communicate the financial answers students want and need in an entertaining format.
In addition, sponsors will have free access to the brass tool kit. Designed to provide an additional touch point to engage members about personal finance, the tool kit takes the information in brass|MAGAZINE and repurposes it through a number of additional channels, from video content and magazine content licensing to online widgets.
"Everyone talks about how to reach Gen Y, and there is no one perfect way to go about reaching young adults. There is no silver bullet," said Sims. "It is ultimately about providing value and information."
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