The GLCU Foundation for Financial Empowerment believes that it’s never too early—or too late—to start teaching your kids money management skills. That’s why GLCU and the GLCU Foundation are dedicated to financially empowering youth of all ages through education, specialized accounts, tools, games, and more.
Here’s our youth financial education impact for 2025:
- 1,170+ students empowered through Bite of Reality budgeting simulation sessions
- 230+ students reached through Adolescent$™ programming
- 360+ students impacted through Money Mammals® youth financial education
Read on to learn more about our youth financial education programs, giveback efforts, and impact!
Helping Kids Get Money Smart with Financial Education
One of the ways we financially empower local youth is through the Money Mammals Saving Money Is Fun™ Kids Club—a program that helps parents raise money-smart kids. With fun resources such as interactive apps, games, books, and videos, we get kids excited about managing money and learning valuable money management skills.
During the program, children explore the value of money and develop positive habits around saving, spending, and sharing. Money Mammals is also an extension of our youth savings account, giving kids the opportunity to watch their money grow as they learn.
For teens, the Adolescent$ product teaches financial independence through educational videos, materials, and hands-on learning experiences. Additionally, the GLCU Foundation offers Bite of Reality budgeting simulations for teens, where they’re assigned jobs, given families, and are tasked with balancing salaries, family expenses, and making big financial decisions like buying a home—allowing them to get a sense of what real-life budgeting is like.
Community Giveback: Providing Educational Opportunities for Youth
The GLCU Foundation is dedicated to financially empowering youth by meeting their needs both in and outside of the classroom. Each year, the GLCU team holds an annual school supply drive where GLCU staff collect and distribute essential supplies to local schools.
GLCU branch managers and their teams personally coordinate deliveries to ensure resources reach children who need them most. This summer, we collected and distributed more than 10,000 school supplies to support local students’ success.
For members pursuing higher education, this year the GLCU Foundation for Financial Empowerment awarded eight $2,500 scholarships to students attending accredited technical schools, trade schools, and four-year colleges and universities.
These scholarships embody our mission to empower members and strengthen the communities we serve by helping young people achieve their educational goals.
Supporting Community Partnerships That Make a Difference
Collaboration with other local organizations amplifies our impact. The GLCU Foundation for Financial Empowerment has supported the Economic Awareness Council and its workforce development programs like One Summer Chicago—offering checking and savings accounts to students so they can experience the confidence and security that comes with being banked.
In 2024, 8,164 students opened bank accounts through this program, increasing the percentage of youth with bank accounts from 56% to an impressive 84% by summer’s end. We’ve also partnered with the EAC to offer financial education to students at City Colleges of Chicago, empowering even more young adults with essential life skills.
Our Great Wave volunteer program connects GLCU employees with community initiatives like Read Across America, Stuff the Bus, and Early Learning Trails through the United Way of Lake County, ensuring kids are set up for success from the start.
In 2025, the GLCU Foundation expanded its youth financial education efforts by adding new partners and initiatives, including:
New Money Mammals Partners
- BASIL Elementary
- McCutcheon Elementary
New Bite of Reality Partners/Initiatives
- Westside Youth Empowerment Conference
- Grayslake Central High School
- Zion New Tech High School
- Grayslake North High School
New Adolescent$ Partners/Initiatives
- GLCU Take Your Kids to Work Day
- United Way Youth Savings Month
- Antioch Emmons School
Support Us This Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is coming up on December 2, 2025! This year, please consider donating to the GLCU Foundation for Financial Empowerment to help us expand our youth financial education program and provide more resources for our communities.
By supporting the GLCU Foundation, you are helping us provide the tools, resources, and guidance our youth need to thrive. Together, we can create brighter, more financially empowered futures for everyone in our community.
Ready to make a difference? Donate to the GLCU Foundation for Financial Empowerment this Giving Tuesday and be a part of our ongoing commitment to financially empower the youth in our community.
