BECU Celebrating 80th Anniversary by "Closing for Good"

BECU locations to open late on October 20th as 1300 employees lead financial literacy workshops

Tukwila, April 16, 2015 – BECU announced today that it is closing its doors for part of the day on Tuesday, October 20, sending its 1,300 employees to lead Financial Reality Fairs in high schools across Washington State. “Closing for Good” will reach at least 2,500 students. The initiative is part of BECU’s 80th anniversary celebration as a not-for-profit credit union dedicated to community involvement. The event is also part of an internal BECU initiative giving employees paid volunteer time off. BECU’s financial centers will reopen at 1 p.m.

“As a credit union, our primary motivation is making a difference for our members and our community,” said BECU CEO Benson Porter. “Through ‘Closing for Good,’ we want to make sure the teens in our community have a high level of financial literacy as they embark on their adult lives.”

During the workshops, students will participate in a hands-on financial role play simulation. Students are assigned a career and starting salary, then must make decisions about housing, utilities, food, transportation and other expenses.

“’Closing for Good’ is all about experiencing the real-life budgeting decisions people face every day,” added Porter. “We want to give teens a chance to think about their financial choices analytically, so that when the time comes, they can make educated decisions.”  Read More>>

Recent studies indicate that American teens lag behind in financial literacy. A 2014 survey of 40,000 college students by EverFi showed  31 percent of students surveyed believe it’s better to have something now and pay for it later and 50 percent think it’s okay to incur a bank overdraft fee if they plan to have funds to make up for it.

BECU call centers, ATMs and other supporting services will remain online during the event, but all of BECU’s 42 locations will open at 1 p.m.

“It is BECU’s mission to make investments that help our community thrive,” said BECU vice president of co-op affairs Sara Moorehead. “BECU’s motto is more than just money – whes.e’re confident our members will see Closing for Good as a representation of that commitment, not as an inconvenience.”  

Schools interested in participating in Closed for Good can visit www.becu.org/ClosingForGood for more details. BECU will provide additional information to members as the event approaches.