Education and Financial Literacy
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Programs in the U.S.
- Now in its ninth year, the TD Bank Summer Reading
Program has encouraged thousands of children to read while
teaching them the importance of saving money; every child who reads
10 books over the summer receives a US$10 deposit into his or her
savings account. Nearly 32,000 children participated in the Summer
Reading Program in 2010 – more than double the number of
2009 participants.
- To help celebrate National Library Week, 100
local school libraries, primarily in low- to moderate-income areas,
received US$4,000 grants for books or technology resources or to
support existing library programs.
- During Employee Reading Month, 1,100 TD Bank
employees read to elementary school classes from Maine to Florida,
then donated the books to the schools’ libraries. The
books are specifically chosen for their core message –
the importance of saving money.
- In 2010, the Non-Profit Training Resource
Fund, through the TD Charitable Foundation, made awards of
up to US$1,000 to 96 not-for-profits to support job training,
education and professional development opportunities for their
employees. In the last three years, grants totalling US$252,000
have been made to strengthen the capacity of not-for-profit
organizations to address community needs.
- The TD Bank WOW!Zone is a free, one-of-a-kind
online and in-school program for students grades kindergarten to
Grade 12 that teaches the importance of saving, budgeting and
banking basics and how to build good financial habits early in
life. Students, parents and educators can access games, learning
activities and lesson plans by visiting the WOW!Zone at www.tdbank.com/wowzone. Trained TD Bank
WOW!Zone instructors volunteer an average of 400 hours to teach
8,000 students each month. Over the last 21 years, we have reached
nearly 800,000 students. In 2011, the program will expand its
offerings to include adult content, which will be available through
both seminar-style classes and online tools and resources.
