IMB BANK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HELPS 4500 LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS GET MAD ABOUT MONEY!

The IMB Bank Community Foundation has once again partnered with The National Theatre for Children (NTC) and during the 2017 school year will have delivered the financial literacy program to 20 high schools and over 4,500 students, at no cost to the students. The program provides educational and entertaining messages to young people who are emerging as consumers.

The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report on financial literacy, has found that Australian 15-year-olds are declining in their financial literacy knowledge with scores falling significantly since 2012.

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 have launched this year for the under 25 age group,” Mr Ryan says.

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.

“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 their web portal The Money Tree by IMB Bank – www.imbmoneytree.com.au – which is loaded with useful tips and information to help add additional value to the financial literacy programs.

The school tour begins on Monday 4^th September and will visit schools across Camden, Hoxton Park, Caringbah as well as Wollongong, Albion Park and surrounding suburbs.