Canadian Foundation for Economic Education Receives Wisconsin Governor's Financial Literacy Award for "Talk With Our Kids About Money Day" and "Money Fair" Programs Powered By BMO

MADISON, WI, Feb. 11, 2016 /CNW/ - The Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE) has been honoured by the Governor of Wisconsin for its  "Talk With Our Kids About Money Day" and "Money Fair" program (TWOKAM) powered by BMO Harris Bank. Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker, presented the award to CFEE as part of his 2015 Financial Literacy Awards' ceremony at the State Capital. The Governor's Financial Literacy award recognized TWOKAM and its associated Money Fair held at The Business and Economic Academy Milwaukee (BEAM) in Milwaukee in April, 2015.

Talk With Our Kids About Money Day, a program created by the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE), and powered by BMO Financial Group, is designed to get teachers and parents engaged in helping young people learn more about money and personal finances and prepare for their financial futures. In Canada, Talk With Our Kids About Money Day is held the third Wednesday in April each year - April 20^th in 2016. In the United States, Talk With Our Kids About Money Day is held the last Wednesday in April each year - April 27^th in 2016.

"We are very honoured that Governor Walker has recognized our Talk With Our Kids About Money Day program", said CFEE President, Gary Rabbior. "TWOKAM Day last year involved thousands of schools and hundreds of thousands of students across Canada and in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois. We expect many more participants in 2016. We want to thank our program partners, BMO and BEAM, for their commitment to developing the financial capabilities of our youth.

"BMO Harris Bank is proud of the work we do to bridge the gap between parent, child and teacher as it relates to conversations about money," said Wallace Harris, Jr., SVP, Head, U.S. Personal and Small Business Banking and Chief CRA Officer. "We believe this to be a key step in putting children on the path to financial understanding and success."

Highlights of the TWOKAM and Money Fair Program:

• Provides a large inventory of easy-to-use, complete lesson plans for teachers that are cross-curricular and make it easy for teachers to integrate money topics  into a broad range of subject areas including social studies, math, science, environmental studies, music and art;
• Helps to get teachers engaged in financial education and builds teacher confidence in this area of instruction;
• Engages students in group activity and discussion, promotes research related to money topics of interest, and challenges students to creatively summarize, display, and communicate what they have learned;
• Provides resources and interactive tools for both teachers and parents and promotes collaboration between the "School Program" and the "Home Program" to encourage reinforcement of lessons from school at home;
• Provides links to other resources and programs to promote additional financial education and learning activities;
• Inspires both teachers and parents to get engaged in the financial education of our children by witnessing their capacity to understand and apply important money concepts and skills;
• Provides free online access to fun and engaging activities that are easy to do and set up opportunities for parents to have a talk about money with their children, provoke their curiosity and stimulate questions that lead to learning;
• Includes a wide variety of actvities including movies to watch, books to read, songs to listen to, crafts to make, local trips to take, and more;
• Supports parents with helpful links and resources including a variety of articles offering different views on allowances;
• Recognizes the learning stages of children by providing resources that are organized by child's age range, for example age 5-7, 6-9, and so on up to the "Transition Years" when youth are moving out on their own

About CFEE
CFEE is a federally chartered, non-profit, non-partisan organization, founded in 1974, that works to improve economic and financial literacy and enterprising capability. CFEE works collaboratively with ministries and departments of education along with school boards, schools, educators, and teacher associations. CFEE also engages in activities to support and assist newcomers and past immigrants to Canada, and the general public including print resources, videos, workshops, and online resources. Overall, CFEE aspires to help people of all ages be better prepared to undertake their economic roles, responsibilities, and decisions with confidence and competence.

About BMO Financial Group
Established in 1817, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified financial services provider based in North America. With total assets of approximately $672 billion as of July 31, 2015, and more than 47,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets

SOURCE Canadian Foundation for Economic Education

Image with caption: "Talk with Our Kids About Money Day and its Money Fair program, powered by BMO in partnership with CFEE, receive Financial Literacy Award from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. (L-R) CFEE Project Manager, TWOKAM USA, Jan Wishart; Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker; BMO Financial Group, Vice President Community Reinvestment Outreach, Sodi Nichols; and, CFEE President, Gary Rabbior. (CNW Group/Canadian Foundation for Economic Education)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160211_C4132_PHOTO_EN_618946.jpg

Media Contacts: Canadian Foundation for Economic Education: Joseph Clark, [email protected], [phone]; Susan Lennox, [email protected], [phone]