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IMB BANK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HELPS LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS GET MAD ABOUT MONEY!

Announcement posted by NTC 24 Mar 2017

More than 2000 high school students across the Illawarra and Sutherland Shire will learn skills crucial to their financial literacy as they participate in a live-sketch comedy program, Mad About Money.

IMB Bank Community Foundation has partnered with The National Theatre for Children (NTC) to deliver a financial literacy program to high schools, at no cost to the students. The program will deliver educational and entertaining messages to young people who are emerging as consumers.


Global Money Week is also being held from March 27 to April 2, with the aim of helping children and teenagers start the journey to a better chance at financial security.


IMB Bank Chief Executive, Robert Ryan, sees the value of investing in these students. “Today’s teenagers are tomorrow’s young adults, who will face important decisions regarding their spending and saving habits,” he says. “When we prepare them to develop healthy money habits, the benefits are enormous—they will have less stress, less debt and less confusion about their finances. This program, funded by IMB Bank Community Foundation, is just one of the financial literacy initiatives we will be launching this year for the under 25 age group.”

Mad About Money is a forty-minute performance divided into segments that humorously address topics like wages and deductions, the difference between needs and wants, cash and credit and the importance of forming a savings habit.

Two professional actors take suggestions from the audience and incorporate the ideas into their scenes through improvisation.

“The kids respond so well to the program because they get to help shape it,” says NTC Managing Director Tobias Benn. “It’s an interactive experience rather than a passive presentation. The energy is very high, the information is relevant and meaningful to the kids and the information sticks with them because learning and laughter are blended so seamlessly.”

The concepts examined in Mad About Money are aligned with the Australian curriculum and reinforced by free student workbooks and teacher guides for teachers to use in their lessons. Schools also gain access to digital learning materials to supplement their lessons with interactive classroom exercises, quizzes and games based around the program.

IMB Bank will further extend the educational experience and knowledge bank for young people with the launch of a new web portal Money Tree – www.imbmoneytree.com.au – which will be loaded with useful tips and information to help add additional value to the financial literacy programs.

The tour begins on Monday 20th March and will visit schools across Kirrawee, Sylvania, Miranda as well as Wollongong, Dapto, Oak Flats and surrounding suburbs.

Did you know IMB Bank...

·         Was established in 1880 and is one of Australia’s leading mutual banks, regulated by APRA and ASIC

·         Has an overall customer satisfaction rating of 96% and assets over $5 billion

·         Offers a comprehensive range of retail banking, small business banking and financial planning products and services

·         Has home loans, personal loans and deposit products awarded five-star ratings or ‘Best in Category’ by various independent financial services reviewers

·         Offers internet and mobile banking and has a branch network of 48 operating in Illawarra, NSW South Coast, ACT, Sydney and Melbourne

·         Has granted $8.1m to more than 550 community projects during the past 17 years via IMB’s Community Foundation

·         Merged with The Shire…Local Banking in July, 2016

About NTC

Since 1978, NTC has dedicated itself to delivering entertaining and highly educational programs to positively motivate families, students and educators.  We inspire young people – and their families – to explore important and timely curricular subjects including: wise energy use, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), financial literacy, health and nutrition and environmental literacy, among others.  Originally focused on delivering its programs via live theatre, NTC is now an award-winning educational content provider whose repertoire includes print and digital curriculum and extracurricular events.  We have developed the art of teaching through educational story-telling into a science of its own, and are currently the largest in-school touring educational production company in the world.  www.ntccorporate.com.au