Thriftiness paid off in more than interest recently for Island students Benjamin Davey and Jack Sayre. Both won prizes in a Super Saver 2009 contest as regular depositors in their school saving accounts through the Save For America (SFA) program, sponsored locally by Martha's Vineyard Savings Bank (MVSB).
The two students' names were drawn from a pool of 3,532 who qualified as "super savers" in grades K-8 at participating schools in 28 states.
Benjamin Davey, a fifth-grader at Tisbury School, celebrates his selection as the national grand prizewinner in a "super saver" contest with recognition from Patti Leighton, left, and Richard Leonard of the Martha's Vineyard Savings Bank. Photo by Janet Hefler
Benjamin, a fifth-grader at Tisbury School, was chosen as the grand prizewinner and will receive a $250 gift certificate redeemable at Amazon.com.
In addition to the grand prize, two runners-up in the contest from New Hampshire and Texas will receive $50 gift certificates.
Six super savers, including Jack, a fourth-grader at Oak Bluffs School, two other students from Massachusetts, and three from Connecticut, Oklahoma, and Texas, will each receive a $25 gift certificate.
In a ceremony last Friday morning in the Tisbury School library, Benjamin received a certificate of recognition from MVSB executive vice president and chief operating officer Richard Leonard and executive assistant and school savings coordinator Patti Leighton.
"We do the school savings program in all the schools on Martha's Vineyard, but the Tisbury School has the most consistent, steady super savings program going," Mr. Leonard told Benjamin. "And you and all of your other fellow students here in Tisbury and on the Vineyard that got entered into this, it's amazing. One person in the country gets this award, and that is you - congratulations."
Benjamin's eight-year-old brother Jason, a second-grader at Tisbury School, attended the ceremony along with his parents, Allan and Anne Davey, who teaches kindergarten at Oak Bluffs School.
In an interview beforehand, Benjamin said he knew nothing about the contest until Esther Teves, school banking parent coordinator, came into his band class on April 10 to tell him he won.
"It was like being hit by lightning," Benjamin recalled.
He estimated he saved about $600 since starting the program in kindergarten, adding a few dollars every week from allowance money for doing some chores at home, along with contributions from his parents.
When asked why he decided to participate in the savings program, the 11-year-old answered with practicality, "It makes sense to - you get money for putting money in the bank."
Although Benjamin spends a little every now and then, he said he's building a nest egg to cover expenses like school class trips when he's older. He hasn't decided yet what he will buy with the Amazon gift certificate.
Asked what he has learned from news about the recession, Benjamin said, "You need to always make sure you can pay back money if you take a loan. The bank needs to be able to trust you."
In a ceremony during Oak Bluffs School's weekly assembly, also held last Friday morning, Jack received a certificate of recognition from school banking parent volunteer Susan Wallo.
In a phone call Monday, Jack said his win came as a complete surprise, especially considering that, "I usually don't win anything - and there were over 3,000 in the contest."
The nine-year-old started his savings account in kindergarten, adding about $3 at a time. Some of his money goes towards his hobby, collecting baseball cards and baseball memorabilia. Jack said he does not know yet what he will buy with his gift certificate. He is the son of Dawn and Jeffrey Sayre of Oak Bluffs, and he has a three-year-old sister, Julia.
With more than 100 students taking part every week in the MVSB savings program, Tisbury School leads among the participating schools, which also include Edgartown School, Chilmark School, West Tisbury School, and the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School.
"It was our goal when we started this program 14 years ago to encourage consistent, good savings habits among students," Ms. Leighton said.
Every week on a school's bank day, students make deposits using their schools' computer, with the help of adult supervisors. SFA, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1980, administers the school savings program online.
SFA compiled the list of students who qualified for the contest drawing by making more than 10 deposits through April 3 from its database of deposit records from participating schools.
At the end of the school year, MVSB rewards "super savers," who deposited money into their accounts every week from September through June, and "steady savers," who deposited money at least 90 percent of the banking days.
In addition to receiving a certificate at their school's award ceremonies, steady savers receive a $5 deposit to their accounts and super savers a $10 deposit. The super savers' names also go into a drawing for one winner at their school for a $50 savings bond.
"The program does not run without the volunteers - they commit to it and understand the importance of it, and love to provide it," Ms. Leighton said, noting that Ms. Wallo has continued to help with the savings program long since her daughter graduated from Oak Bluffs School.
Ms. Teves also credited parent volunteers Katherine Mendez, Beth Mello, and Cheryl Backus for helping her at Tisbury School.
