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Page 16 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2021 The Savings Bank partners with Mass. banks to launch innovative financial literacy website for high schoolers W AKEFIELD – The Savings Bank and seven other local banks that have long supported financial literacy in Massachusetts public schools formed a partnership to bring a popular event to students beginning this spring, virtually. High school students throughout the Commonwealth will be able to participate in a Credit for Life Fair via a responsive website, creditforlife.org. Conceived to be part of a high school class, the site was designed by Stackpole & Partners of Newburyport, in collaboration with the Institution for Savings, Cape Cod 5, Bay Coast Bank, HarborOne Bank, The Savings Bank, Rockland Trust, Westfield Bank, Country Bank and FitMoney.org, a not-for-profit financial literacy organization. The Credit for Life Fair, a halfday event where high school students assume the roles of 25-year-old adults and spend their “paychecks” on everything they will need to live, has been a popular event in many Massachusetts public schools for more than a decade. Many banks and credit unions throughout the Commonwealth host these events, using local resources and volunteers, and the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Office of Economic Empowerment has encouraged more fairs in recent years by making grants available to schools to participate. The pandemic brought most of these events to a halt. Organizers connected last summer to explore collaboration on a virtual experience in 2021 given the unlikelihood of large in-person events. They enlisted FitMoney, which had given support to fairs via its partnership with the New England Patriots’ Brandon CopeTHE SOUNDS | FROM PAGE 11 ple who have already purchased a brick. Any questions, please call 781-231-7995.” Side Door Pickup at the Saugus Public Library To help keep the building and staff warmer during the winter, the Saugus Public Library moved its Front Door Pickup service from Central Street to Taylor Street in mid-December. Patrons are required to place items on hold via the library’s online catalog and then, once notified that their item(s) are ready, schedule a pickup date. Pickup times remain the same: Tuesday: 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday: 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Thursday: 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. “In addition to the slight land, a passionate financial literacy advocate. The group expanded to include other banks that contributed funds for the design and implementation of the website, with FitMoney serving as the fiscal agent. “One fact we all agree on is that Credit for Life Fairs are among the most important and impactful events we do every year,” said President/CEO Bob DiBella of The Savings Bank, one of the founding sponsors. He continued, “With Massachusetts legislation enacted in 2019 authorizing financial literacy to be taught in public schools, we know educators will appreciate this type of program, and we thought, why not collaborate and deliver one common tool that all schools can use to teach the same lessons?” “Our long-term hope is that we can eventually go back to in-person fairs,” said former Massachusetts Bankers Association Senior Vice President David Floreen. “In the interim, this website is a tool that educators and others can use right now, with the support of banks and other community organizations. Teachers are being asked to do so much right now, and this is one way we think we can help.” Only six states in the country require high school students to take at least one semester-long personal finance class before graduating, according to Next Gen Personal Finance’s 20192020 progress report, and 15 more have personal finance in another course. The remaining states, more than half of the United States, don’t require students to have any personal finance education before graduating. Massachusetts is one of those states. In early 2019, Maschange in location, the library has made it easier for its patrons to retrieve their items. Instead of waiting for a librarian to place your item on the table, we’ll place all scheduled holds on a table in the Taylor Street hallway. All you’ll have to do is walk in (one at a time, please, and don’t forget to wear a mask!) and retrieve the bag with your name on it. The library also provides remote printing pickup and take & make crafts from the Taylor Street hallway. “And should you need assistance, a librarian will be standing by near the hallway to help. “Fast, simple, and easy!” For more info, visit http://www. sauguspubliclibrary.org. Let’s hear it! Got an idea, passing thought or gripe you would like to share sachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation that allows state education officials to establish standards around financial literacy, which schools could incorporate into their existing curricula in subjects like math, business and social sciences; however, progress on this initiative has been hampered given the severe constraints put on schools by the pandemic. “I have a deep respect for today’s students as they navigate this challenging academic year,” said Brandon Copeland. He is well-known in the NFL for his passion for financial literacy and when not on the turf teaches a class at University of Pennsylvania called “Life 101” focusing on this very subject. He continued, “I have no doubt they will make us proud as tomorrow’s leaders. Financial literacy is one of the most important subjects students can learn today, especially as we work to level the playing field for all our kids. Let’s continue our efforts together so our students will become financially savvy and responsible young adults.” The website development is in its final stages and will be beta tested by a group of educators and others this month. By the end of March, the participating banks expect to have the site ready for use by high schools and others. The group is also in the process of establishing a 501(c) (3) that will allow it to raise funds and plan for future school financial literacy initiatives like creditforlife.org. The Savings Bank is a long-standing supporter of financial literacy in schools. The Bank has been a past participant in various Credit for Life Fairs, including those in Wakefield, Lynwith The Saugus Advocate? I’m always interested in your feedback. It’s been nearly five years since I began work at The Saugus Advocate. I’m always interested in hearing readers’ suggestions for possible stories or good candidates for “The Advocate Asks” interview of the week. Feel free to email me at mvoge@comcast.net. Do you have some interesting views on an issue that you want to express to the community? Submit your idea. If I like it, we can meet for a 15- to 20-minute interview while practicing social distancing outside a local coffee shop. And I’ll buy the coffee. Or, if you prefer to be interviewed from the safety of your home on the phone or via email, I will provide that option to you as the nation copes with the Coronavirus crisis. nfield, North Reading, Andover and Methuen. The Bank also sponsors a student-run bank branch located at Wakefield High School and has supported financial literacy at the elementary school level as well. For more information and to learn how schools and organizations can participate, email www.tsbawake24.com or info@creditforlife.org. Established in 1869, The Savings Bank, which is headquarCOVID-19 | FROM PAGE 1 Even though the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Saugus continues to drop, local health officials are worried that the public is suffering from COVID-19 fatigue and tired of following the social distancing and mask protocols set by Gov. Charlie Baker. They are also concerned that the public doesn’t fully understand the process and timetable for receiving vaccines. People who are 75 and older in Massachusetts are getting their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. But except for first responders – like police, firefighters, health care workers and emergency personnel – and nursing home residents, the vaccine hasn’t been readily available to town residents. “How can we get the word out to wear masks,” nurse Teresa Riley-Singh asked. She also wondered whether it would be possible to display signs or banners reminding people that they need to wear their masks. Board of Health Chair William Heffernan noted that there’s a lot of frustration among people who are fatigued by the COVID-19 rules, but he agreed that the board needs to take steps to keep the public to beware of the virus. “Let’s be vigilant and try to get rid of it,” Heffernan said. “This is not going away any time soon.” Heffernan added that people are wondering if a vaccine is going to be available. “My mother yelled at me today, ‘How do I get my vaccination?’” Heffernan said. Fralick told the board that he wishes state officials would give local authorities more advance notice on the COVID-19-related matters, particularly the availability of the vaccine. “We’re getting tered in Wakefield, Mass., is a $660 million community bank with eight offices in Wakefield, Lynnfield, North Reading, Andover and Methuen, plus the 1st Educational Savings Branch at Wakefield High School, the first student-run branch in the nation. The Bank operates the Donald E. Garrant Foundation charitable foundation to support financial literacy in public and private schools [K-12] and nonprofits. notification at the same time as the general public,” Fralick said. “It’s a logistical thing that unfortunately we have to deal with right now.” Heffernan said he doesn’t think the entire general public would be vaccinated until the summer. “This thing is just a nightmare,” Heffernan said. He suggested the message to the public right now should be “we’re beholding to the rules of the state.” “I think we’ve seen the challenges of the rollout,” he said. “People are clamoring for these vaccines and we’re beholding to what the Baker administration gives up,” Heffernan said. “We need to work within the confines of the state. That’s all we can do,” he said. Board of Health Member Maria Tamagna said Saugus residents should not be waiting for a local clinic and, instead, should be trying to go online and register at any available regional clinic in the area. Public Health Nurse Mary McKenzie noted that a lot of people who are 75 and older are not computer literate and live alone and don’t have children around who could assist them. McKenzie also questioned why some people who were less a priority than the people 75 years old recently received the vaccine. Fralick told MacKenzie that 10 doses were administered to “front line workers,” because there wasn’t anywhere to store the vaccine. “We just couldn’t lose any vaccine. It was something we had to make a call on,” he said. Heffernan lamented that he wished he had a million doses of the vaccine to distribute among town residents. “If I could vaccinate the entire town and every municipality that touches Saugus, I’d authorize that today,” Heffernan said.

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