Young Essay Winners Score $1,000 Savings Accounts from OneUnited Bank

2nd Annual I Got Bank! Essay Contest Promotes Financial Literacy for Youth

Boston, MA (August 9, 2012) – Youths from Boston, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale earned a $1,000 savings accounts from OneUnited Bank as the winners of the bank’s 2nd Annual I Got Bank! essay contest to promote financial literacy.

Isaiah Harris, 10, of Dorchester, Massachusetts; Stephanie Orellana, 12, of Compton, California; and Abshalaam Muhammad, 12, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, impressed the judges, including Teri Williams, President of OneUnited, one of the largest minority-owned bank in the U.S., with their financial savvy.

“The essays we received this year were very impressive and it is encouraging and exciting to see the strides our youth are making in terms of financial know-how,” said Williams, who wrote the book I Got Bank! after she discovered the lack of books geared toward educating urban youth about financial literacy. “Hopefully, these are tools that will last a lifetime.”

Middle school students from across the country between the ages of 8 and 12 submitted a 250-word essay about how they would apply to their lives what they learned from I Got Bank! or a similar financial literacy book.
The I Got Bank! essay contest is part of a larger OneUnited Bank effort to educate urban youth about smart money management. I Got Bank! is offered at no cost to libraries and middle schools across the U.S. and to date, more than 3,000 copies have been donated in 37 states. The bank hopes its efforts will increase awareness of such an important subject and improve the financial skills of children throughout the country.

I Got Bank! is published by The Beckham Publications Group, Inc. (www.beckhamhouse.com). For more information on how libraries and middle schools can receive a free copy (supplies are limited), please visit: www.oneunited.com/book.

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