City to Connect Youth Employees to Financial Education
July 15, 2022 – The City of Albuquerque has been selected by national nonprofit organization, Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) as a Summer Jobs Connect (SJC) grantee. This summer, young people in Albuquerque will be connected to safe, affordable banking products and financial education as part of their summer jobs. Albuquerque’s participation in the Summer Jobs Connect initiative is supported by the PNC Foundation and the initiative’s seed funder, the Citi Foundation.
“Every summer, the City of Albuquerque employs over 1,000 young people to work as Recreation Leaders, Lifeguards and Tennis/Swim instructors, in addition to other positions,” Cristin Chavez-Smith, Community Services Division Manager said, “The City serves youth in so many ways and youth employment plays a big role in that. We want to make sure that we are equipping our young employees to be successful in their jobs, which includes financial education and empowerment.”
“As a Main Street Bank, we are committed to delivering on our strategic priorities while looking out for the best interests of all our stakeholders, including our customers, communities, employees and shareholders,” said Kamal Ali, PNC regional president for New Mexico. “This program addresses the importance of offering our youth of Albuquerque an opportunity to ‘earn and learn’ by empowering our emerging workforce of today to be resilient and prepared for a lifetime of productive and meaningful employment. PNC is honored to join with CFE and SJC to help provide our young people with the tools to manage their finances, combined with the employment necessary so they can put their skills into practical use for their future and that of Albuquerque.”
Albuquerque joins 24 other municipal partners in adding banking access and targeted financial education to their Summer Youth Employment Programs. The CFE Fund has been working with city and county partners to ensure the availability of safe, affordable youth banking accounts at just the time when they are arranging to receive their income, including through the creation of programmatic Summer Jobs Connect Youth Account Priorities. Across the country, SJC cities and counties have formed partnerships with more than 50 banks and credit unions that will open accounts for participants, including those under the age of 18.
“An early job is more than just a paycheck – it’s the first step into the financial mainstream,” said Jonathan Mintz, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. “We’re thrilled to work with Mayor Keller and City of Albuquerque to bring the Summer Jobs Connect model of banking access and financial education to young people and thank the PNC Foundation for their support of this important work.”
“Access to secure, affordable banking is needed for our youth, especially during these summer times when youth are getting their first jobs,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “It is important we educate our youth on the importance of finances so they are able make sound decisions when it comes to their hard-earned money. We are grateful to be a Summer Jobs Connect initiative grantee so we can continue to empower Albuquerque youth.”
Bank On Burque was launched last year and welcomes the addition of SJC in connecting with their coalition financial institution partners.