AAACU has partnered with TBJH for the last four years, providing this educational opportunity to teach students the importance of budgeting and saving money. This year AAACU was able to bring the students a new format for the event through a mobile app.

Within the app, the students were able to select from various careers listed and then, based on their career choice, students were assigned a starting salary, a credit score, and a small savings account balance.

The students then visited lifestyle stations that focused on expenses in life such as housing, transportation, clothing, and food that they would need to fit within their monthly budget. In addition, students that selected careers that required college degrees were faced with student loans that impacted their monthly budget.

The credit union is proud to continue to provide this financial literacy program to students across Northeast Michigan through its partnership with the Michigan Credit Union Foundation.

Courtesy Photo AAACU Board Chairperson Charlie Negro helps Thunder Bay Junior High students at the recent Financial Reality Fair for eighth-graders.

AAACU also recently made a donation to the Alpena High School (AHS) Band.

The AHS band has a vision to give students lifelong moments, experiences, and the skills of understanding music and performing while continuing to create a public brand of excellence and enthusiasm. AAACU believes in their vision and wanted to support them by making a donation to their 2019-2020 season.

Funds collected during the season will be used to purchase updated instruments, new music, instruction fees, new uniforms for the 2020-2021 marching band season, and help fund their trip to perform a concert at Disney.

AAACU is proud to support the schools in our community and believes in the educational value of the arts for our area youth.