BBVA Compass teaches financial literacy - with an assist from basketball legends
BBVA Compass enlisted NBA Legend Bob Lanier and WNBA Legend Allison Feaster to tip off a WNBA Cares event last Thursday to inspire and teach financial literacy to local students at McAllen ISD’s Victor Fields Elementary School.
Lanier, a Hall of Fame center, and Feaster, who spent 10 seasons in the WNBA, joined BBVA Compass volunteers in visits to classrooms and computer labs at Fields. They talked to students about the importance of financial literacy and how it can create opportunities for a bright future. BBVA Compass later donated 33 iPads and an iPad charging cart to the school as a way to advance the students’ learning experiences.
Back row, from left: NBA Legend Bob Lanier, BBVA Compass Upper Rio Grande Valley Market President Jason Leal, McAllen ISD Superintendent Dr. J.A. Gonzalez, BBVA Compass Lower Valley Market President and Commercial Banking Executive for the Texas Border Region Jon Rebello, BBVA Compass Director of Corporate Responsibility and Reputation Reymundo Ocañas. Front row, from left: Fields Elementary Student Mayor Ramon Landeros, Principal Rosey Guerra and WNBA Legend Allison Feaster. The group poses with the 33 iPads and charging cart that BBVA Compass donated to the school as a way to advance the students’ learning experiences. (Copyright 2017 NBAE. Photo by Nathan Lambrecht/NBAE via Getty Images)
This is our way of giving back to a school that has done so much for McAllen
“Victor Fields Elementary has been around for a long time, giving children the tools they need to excel, and this is our way of giving back to a school that has done so much for McAllen,” said BBVA Compass Upper Rio Grande Valley Market President Jason Leal.
The event is part of the bank’s annual effort to bring the Vault financial education program, developed by education technology firm EverFi, into schools across the BBVA Compass footprint at no cost to the schools or school districts. The course features interactive lessons, games and story-based activities that challenge children from an early age to make choices in real-life scenarios to best achieve important goals around saving and job planning.
BBVA Compass Director of Corporate Responsibility Reymundo Ocañas, center, told the students he was a proud alumni of Victor Fields Elementary School. (Copyright 2017 NBAE. Photo by Nathan Lambrecht/NBAE via Getty Images)
“Our mission at Fields is to create lifelong learners who can go out into the world and succeed,” said Fields Principal Rosey Guerra. “We’re grateful for everyone who came out today – from BBVA Compass, EverFi and the WNBA and NBA – in the service of that mission.”
BBVA Compass and the NBA have engaged more than 20,000 students in 27 schools across various markets since 2011, providing physical improvements to schools and presenting financial literacy programs.
.@BBVACompass and the NBA have engaged more than 20,000 students in 27 schools across various markets since 2011