St. Christopher's joins First Niagara's School Banking Club

St. Christopher's School in Tonawanda has joined First Niagara Bank's School Banking Club, which is a practical program that was developed in 1991 and today has more than 34,000 youths in more than 200 participating schools across upstate New York.

The School Banking Club gives students the opportunity to learn firsthand the principles of personal finance, with a special focus on the discipline of saving and planning for the future.

"It is especially important, given the decline in the personal savings rate in America, for youngsters to better understand the procedures and rewards associated with maintaining a savings account," said Suzanne Kilcher, First Niagara's director of School Banking.

First Niagara and the school's Parent-Teacher Organization partner to sponsor the program using parent banking volunteers. The School Banking Department provides all the training, software, supplies and savings incentives to effectively manage the program.

Through the School Banking Club, youngsters learn how to make deposits into their own school bank accounts on a designated "banking day."

Since the account has no minimum balance requirements and earns an attractive rate of interest, children can see that even by saving a small amount weekly their accounts can grow.