Thank you Excite Credit Union!
Thanks to Sammyriffic collaboration partners like Excite Credit Union, we are making strides every day to end youth and family financial illiteracy—one child, one family, one resource, and one financial education experience at a time! Woohoo!
Excite Credit Union understands the crucial role financial literacy plays in empowering communities. They are dedicated to providing the right resources to serve and grow their membership.
What sets Excite Credit Union apart is their ongoing commitment to early-age and family financial literacy and making a lasting multi-generational impact.
Keep reading to discover more about the strategies, successes, and impact of our collaboration with Excite Credit Union below.
Are you yeady to make a difference? Contact us today to collaborate!
An "Exciting" Strategy
Excite Credit Union offers their members the following Sammyriffic resources:
Custom-branded Books
Learn with Sammy Resource Hub
Money School Memberships
Live Virtual and In Person Events/Author Reading
Special Accounts:
"Step Up" Children Savings Accounts
Sammy Rabbit supports Excite Credit Union with:
Child Money Memories Interview
Social Media Exposure and Press Coverage
-Marketing and Public Relations Support
Description of Resources
Below find a summary of each topic:
Co-branded Books
Excite Credit Union provides members and community partners custom, co-branded Sammy Rabbit books.
Like every strategic Sammy resource, these books stress "habit" formation! They also introduce and teach kids the language and basic principles of money!
They are outstanding outreach and education tools that make great gifts, rewards, and incentives. 
Online Money School Memberships
Excite Credit Union offers members, community partners and web visitors a wealth of FREE digital, downloadable activities via their own custom and co-branded Sammy Rabbit Money School!
School resources can be accessed 24-7 to keep kids personal finance knowledge going and growing anytime, anywhere with unique and original programming that includes Sammy's story, songs, Decode and Sing, Dream Big Journal series and much more!
Live Virtual and In Person Events
Children's author Sam X Renick has been inspiring kids to save and read for the past 20 years with his dynamic and interactive brand of live financial education experiences. He knows how to motivate kids to “get in the habit” of saving.
Excite Credit Union and Sammy have been working together to bring these experiences to kids and families in English and Spanish!
Check out the recording of the event HERE!
Child Savings Account
Excite Credit Union offers special "STEP UP" (TM) Kids Savings account. Check them out HERE!
Impact
The following pictures, press, and text help to further tell the story of the Excite Credit Union - Sammy Rabbit collaboration and its impact.
They highlight Excite Credit Union's outstanding efforts to make financial literacy accessible to every child, parent, school, and community leader committed to putting children on the path to greater financial freedom, security, and stability!
Collaboration History
Our collaboration with Excite Credit Union began in 2018 and is centered around their innovative Step Up Savings program for kids.
The program's goal is to give every child the opportunity to build a financially stronger future, so together we can strengthen our community.
Excite Credit Union officially launched the Step Up Savings program on November 1, 2019. It is available to families connected to non-profits and low-income schools in two of Excite's key markets: Silicon Valley and North Carolina.
As part of the program, Excite opens each child’s savings account with an initial $50 deposit and matches family deposits up to $25 per year. Additionally, they contribute $25 on the child’s 5th, 10th, 15th, and 18th birthdays. The account also offers high interest, making it an excellent savings vehicle for children's education.
To further support this initiative, Excite distributes Sammy Rabbit books to children through schools, non-profits, and their branches.
According to John Hogan, Excite's VP of Community Relations, the combination of fun, engaging books to foster good habits and Excite’s financial contributions creates a powerful incentive for families to open savings accounts for their children’s education.
The Step Up Savings program is off to a strong start, receiving print and television coverage in both English and Spanish.
Excerpt from Financial Advisor Magazine
John Hogan, Vice President of Community Relations at Excite Credit Union, has worked to give out more than a thousand Sammy Rabbit books in Santa Clara County, CA and North Carolina, where the credit union is based.
“The goal is to get kids and families saving, building assets, financial security and independence,” Hogan said.
“We distributed over 1,700 Sammy Rabbit books to grades 1, 2 and 3 throughout Santa Clara County. One of our staff members, Aleta Smith, who recently joined our team as a Community Relations Specialist, was able to personally read the books in classrooms...” according to Hogan who said the credit union has already gotten requests for Sammy books in Spanish and Vietnamese.
“We love the fun and engaging nature that the Sammy Rabbit books bring to the program,” said Hogan, who works with a number of community programs to launch savings programs to help lower-income families.
San Jose Spotlight reports on Step Up Savings Strategy
San Jose credit union launches program to help low-income students save for college.
A unique partnership between a local credit union and a slew of East Side school districts could help low-income students in Silicon Valley do something many have only dreamed of — save up for college.
Excite Credit Union Chief Executive Officer Brian Dorcy this month announced the Step Up Savings Program, a partnership between the credit union and the East Side Alliance, a group of eight East San Jose school districts, that allows children to begin saving money for higher education by making an initial investment and then matching those funds. READ MORE
Additional Media and Awareness
Media
Financial Advisor Magazine Full Article
Interview and Featured Blog: Brian Dorcy, Excite Credit Union, CEO
Excite Credit Union featured in Sammy Rabbit 2019 Highlights and Programs
Social Media Posts
Samples of posts featured and promoted on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
LinkedIn: Expert Money Tips posts
Facebook: Welcome Excite Credit Union
Facebook: Brian Dorcy Interview
Contact Sammy to collaborate!
Website and Email
If you have questions, suggestions or would like learn more about Sammy Rabbit and his mission to teach kids great money habits and other important life skills, contact us!
CLICK to contact Sammy via our website contact form;
or email us at: contact@SammyRabbit.com
Social Media