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$1 billion/67,000-member Xceed Financial Credit Union, El Segundo, Calif., won CUES Golden Mirror Awards™ honors in the Staff and Culture Initiatives category for turning Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day into something special for both associates and children. CUES member Paris Chevalier, VP/marketing and communications, explains that the program fits nicely into the CU’s goal of “improving the financial lives of members, associates and their families.”
In its original format, created more than 20 years ago, this event was called Take Our Daughters to Work Day and was intended to show girls the possibilities for them in the working world. Now it has expanded to include both boys and girls discovering where their parents are employed and learning more about career options.
Financial Literacy Mission
Xceed Financial CU wanted to add something more. Chevalier explains: “We saw this as more than an opportunity for associates to show their children what they do every day—although that is important. Certainly my daughter was always asking me questions about what I did at work! But it is also an opportunity to teach children about the basics of good financial management.”
Natasha Chilingerian, corporate communications specialist, says the associates see this as another perk of working at Xceed Financial CU, because it is such a fun event.
“The child you bring doesn’t have to be your own,” she says. “People bring nieces, nephews, grandchildren and neighbors. We also have people who don’t bring a child but who volunteer to help with the programs for the day. That way everyone can participate.”
When the children arrive on the big day, they are given name badges that match the ones worn by employees. For the first part of the morning, they are engaged in age-appropriate, fun activities where they also learn about credit unions and money. Numbers Guy, Xceed Financial CU’s financial superhero, also provides some entertaining interactions for the children.
Afterwards, the entire group walks to the Financial Center where they are given popcorn and a “behind-the-scenes tour” to see the inside of the vaults, the safe-deposit boxes and the back of an ATM as well as the various departments. At the end of the morning, the children are led back to the branch where they have lunch with the parent or adult who brought them, and then spend the rest of the day with that adult, getting a real experience of being at work.
“It’s a very high energy and rather tiring day,” says Chevalier. “We change the program every year because some children come back year after year. We want to make sure to have new activities and topics each time. It is a lot of work to prepare, but well worth it to see the smiles on the children’s faces and their enthusiasm.”
The minimum age to take part is five years old, and the oldest is 13. (The CU is now starting an internship program for college-age children of associates and they anticipate that some children who previously came to Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day may want to become interns as a result of that experience.)
Offer Incentives
For other CUs interested in starting a similar program, Chilingerian suggests that “it can help initially to offer an incentive to those who volunteer and those who bring children, such as an entry in a raffle.”
The news that this program had been recognized with CUES GMA honors was “really exciting for all of us,” says Chevalier. “People were thrilled.”
Chilingerian is proud of the way they’ve been able to enhance an already positive program. “We think educating kids and youth is a big deal. Having them here to take part in the activities ties in with our mission of educating the community. And it’s a lot of fun!”
Teresa Pitman is a freelance writer based in Guelph, Ontario.
