Saving essays pay off for kids

Eight-year-old Sandrine Pomies of Astoria found out that even contemplating saving brings rewards. Pomies, along with other local kids, was a recent winner in an annual essay contest for kids between the ages of five and 12 organized 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 and Suffolk counties, selected a winner.
“I would save my money for college and school supplies. I would also save money for food, shelter and getting a dog,” wrote Pomies in her essay.
Another Astoria branch winner was 12-year-old Markella Gialouiris, who said in her essay that she would also save for college. “I would have enough to buy all my books and pay for tuition. I also would probably have enough to buy a car.”
Yet another local branch winner who wants to save for college too is Glendale’s Joseph Mastrolambo, 10. “Since I was in Pre-K, I always wanted to be a doctor,” he wrote in his essay. “When I found out about the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, I thought about all the kids who got hurt. That’s when I decided I wanted to be a pediatrician.”
Mastrolambo, like all the branch winners, won a $50 Savings Bond, a certificate and a medal for his essay.
A couple of months before selecting a winner for each branch, Astoria Federal Savings selected the top seven winners from all the branches. Among them was Olivia Richards, 8, from Astoria who, like the other top winners, received a $500 savings bond.
“I could go to college and take classes in drawing and sculpting. If I was an artist, I could share my artwork with patients in the hospital and help brighten their day,” Richards wrote in 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.