Wisconsin youth save nearly a quarter of a million dollars in April

Over $246,323 was saved by Wisconsin's young credit union members as part of the 2012 Youth Savings Challenge, held during the month of April in conjunction with National Credit Union Youth Week. During this year's challenge, 2,019 young members in Wisconsin under the age of 18 made deposits for an average of about $80 per child. 205 new youth accounts were opened.

Credit unions across Wisconsin and the country observe National Credit Union Youth Week, as well as the Savings Challenge, to motivate children, teenagers and their parents to become more active users of credit union services.

As part of the Youth Savings Challenge, 10 participants from credit unions across the country were also chosen at random to receive $100. This year a young member from PCM Credit Union in Green Bay was chosen as one of the 10 winners.

Nationally, 125,867 young people made more than $21.3 million in deposits during Youth Week. That averages to about $169 per child. More than 7,300 new accounts were also opened by young people as part of the program..

The theme of this year's Youth Week was "Be a Credit Union Super Saver."

In 2013, National Credit Union Youth Week will be held April 21-27, and the Savings Challenge will run throughout the entire month of April.