BECU to close branches to teach teens money management

EVERETT — BECU employees are closing shop for much of Tuesday and heading to high schools to talk about money with students.

The credit union’s branches, including six in Snohomish County, will reopen after 1 p.m. Tuesday.

More than 1,300 BECU employees are expected to visit 22 high schools, including Cascade in Everett, Heritage in Marysville and Jackson in Mill Creek.

Credit union staff will host financial reality fairs to introduce participating teens to creating and managing budgets and making real-world decisions about money.

“We want to make sure that the teens in our community understand personal finances and are prepared as they enter the next stage of their lives,” BECU CEO Benson Porter said in a press release from the not-for-profit credit union.

During the fairs, BECU workers will assign jobs and incomes to students, who then will have to balance their household budgets. They will have to consider paying for transportation, clothing, cell phones, food and other expenses.

BECU expects more than 3,000 students to take part.

The event, called Closing for Good, is part of BECU’s celebration of its 80th anniversary. A handful of Boeing workers started the credit union on Dec. 7, 1935. It became known as Boeing Employees Credit Union. It is one of the largest private credit unions in the country, with more than 900,000 members, including 190,000 in Snohomish County, and $13 billion in assets.

Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.

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