Monetary essays pay off for kids

Even contemplating saving brings you rewards - this is what 10-year-old Elizabeth Yim of Bayside found out.
Yim, along with other local kids, was a recent winner in an annual essay contest for children between the ages of five and 12 administered by Astoria Federal Savings.
The children were asked to complete the statement, ‘If I save a lot today, in the future I could…” Each of the bank’s branches, spread throughout Queens, Brooklyn, Nassau, Westchester and Suffolk counties, selected a winner for the bank’s contest.
“I could donate money for camps to keep people safe in hard times and to rebuild places that have been destroyed or damaged by war or natural disasters,” Yim wrote in her essay, which she submitted in a Flushing branch. “This money could help doctors and scientists find cures for diseases.” Another local winner is 10-year-old Victoria Veneziano from Flushing, who submitted her essay at the branch in Beechhurst. “I could use my savings to pay for college. I could also donate to kids’ funds and charities,” Veneziano wrote in her winning entry. “One last important thing I would do is donate to my school.”
Veneziano, like Yim and all the branch winners, won a $50 Savings Bond, a certificate and a medal for her essay.
“The principle of saving money is a lesson that is best taught at an early age,” said Astoria Federal Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing Brian Edwards. “This contest is just one of the fun engaging ways to promote financial literacy to young people in our communities,” Edwards added.
About 300 children submitted essays to Astoria Federal’s 85 branches.