They say a penny saved is a penny earned and this morning for three children that meant riding out of the St. John's Credit Union office on new bicycles. All three opened toucan junior savers account which gives children under the age of 12 their own account. Every $20 deposited translated into a free ticket to the draw and this morning the grand prizes were presented. The Credit Union Board's Secretary Elsi Sylvestre says this gives the children one more incentive to save.
Elsi Sylvestre, St. John's Credit Union
"Children are entitled to save from age zero to twelve years. So for every twenty dollars that they save, they get a raffle ticket and so far we have had five drawings since the program started in 2004. The prizes vary from Junior Savings Account to books, to presentation of schoolbooks, also bicycles as you see here. We believe that its not too early to start saving and by having this program we will encourage children to not depend on their parents."
Junior savers can only deposit money into their accounts, they can't withdraw. The credit union plans to promote the initiative in schools. This year St. John's Credit Union is celebrating its 60th anniversary.
