In May of 2004 Jinnie
Nims, marketing officer for Denali Alaskan Federal
Credit Union, contacted the principal of Wendler
Middle School, Joel Roylance, regarding establishing
a school business partnership. As Wendler had no
acting SBP coordinator and was in the midst of move
associated with a remodel the partnership was delayed.
In October of 2005 Dan Rufner, counseling department
chair at Wendler, took on the role of SBP coordinator
for Wendler and contacted DAFCU. Both parties were
excited about getting the partnership started and began
meeting for discussions. Nims said “there
was so much enthusiasm to get our partnership off
the ground, making a great start to working as partners
from the very beginning”.
DAFCU brought Jessica Dean, a financial advisor, to
Mr. Art Salzman’s classes to discuss investment
strategy, real world applications, and share what the
career of a financial adviser entails. As Salzman says, “I
appreciated the fact that I could defer the ultimate
financial knowledge to DAFCU. The students were able
to see what several individuals did with their respective
degrees and how it applies to the field of economics”.
This year the coordinator of the Wendler Science Fair,
Linda Nagel, decided to assist the victims of the tsunami
in Indonesia. DAFCU stepped in by donating school supplies,
providing incentive rewards for students who brought
in goods, and gave $50 saving certificates as awards
to students who collected the most. “They are
awesome,” says Linda. “I have never had
a group of people more willing to jump in and help.” In
the end forty-seven backpacks filled with supplies
and one hundred and fifty new or lightly-used shirts
were sent to help students in Indonesia. |
 |
Dan Rufner at Wendler created an
incentive rewards program at Wendler, “Rambucks”,
designed to recognize the students’ achievements
at Wendler. This year 789 students have earned Rambucks
for earning above a quarterly 2.0 GPA, having perfect
attendance, participating in activities, winning
contests, or given as behavior rewards. They are
also provided to teachers to use as classroom incentives
as they see fit. Each Friday students redeem Rambucks
at the Rambucks store. DAFCU greatly contributed
to Rambucks by providing items for Rambucks redemption
including school supplies, small novelties, and savings
certificates so students could turn Rambucks into
cash.
Discussions are in place for next year including
having DAFCU be present at Back to School Night and
Parent Conferences. One area both parties hope to
pursue is creating a remote bank where students could
deposit, withdraw, save, and manage their DAFCU accounts
here at Wendler. We also hope to continue supporting
The Stock Market Game as well as improve the structure
and materials of the Rambucks store.
Visit online |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
