2020 Dakota West Credit Union Scholarships Awarded

(WATFORD CITY, ND, 15 May 2020) – Breaking from its tradition, Dakota West awarded $500 to every student who submitted an application for its 2020 Dakota West Credit Union Annual Scholarships. Originally planning to award four scholarships, current high school seniors and enrolled college and trade school students submitted essays focusing on the Dakota West value of Communication.

“The unconventional circumstances for most students right now made the final months of this school year an exercise in self-discipline. Any students who made the effort to speak to their viewpoint on the importance of Communication in this time of social-distancing deserves to be recognized for his or her dedication,” Juliet Jones, Marketing Coordinator for Dakota West, explained of the change in the number of recipients.

These seven students received news of their receipt of these scholarships on Dakota West’s Facebook page on Friday, May 15.

Charles Eriksmoen, Mohall
Clayton Ledahl, Grenora
Ethan Kobos, Watford City
Gracey Russell, Washburn
Hannah Johnson, Grenora
Morgan Reiser, Turtle Lake
Taylalyn Kaczmar, Watford City

Dakota West expresses its congratulations and gratitude to the all the student members who belong to the non-profit credit union headquartered in Watford City, North Dakota. Established in 1941, each of its branches and its members and employees help grow the Dakota West family with exceptional commitment to building relationships and strengthening communities.

Dedicated to exhibiting its values of Responsibility, Positive Attitude, Respectfulness, and Communication throughout west and central North Dakota, Dakota West Credit Union is instilling its young members with skills to maintain personal financial responsibility throughout their education. Dakota West supports all its members grow with comprehensive, competitive financial products partnered with personal, professional service. To learn more about its services and communities, visit our Member Service page.

Watch for individual profiles of these outstanding young members on our News & Events page throughout the summer.

Education Matters At Dakota West

Responsible financial decisions start when we are young and continue throughout our lives and Dakota West is building an educational foundation in our communities to guide and reward our students and teachers.

Every year Dakota West offers high school seniors, and this year also current college and trade school students, the opportunity to apply for the annual Dakota West Members Scholarship. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 15. We also support the annual CU Care Campaign which helps fund additional scholarships through the Credit Union Foundation of the Dakotas.

On March 12 we announced the winner of our inaugural Teacher Financial Literacy Grants to give teachers the financial resources to integrate financial education into our schools. While Suzy Jacobson misses spending time with her 5^th and 6^th graders, we are excited to help her bring financial education to her students in the future.

Parents who are adding new home curriculum to their daily schedule can also utilize the resources we offered to Suzy and all the Teacher Financial Literacy Grants applicants at the below links.

Learn more about all the Dakota West programs in our communities on our News and Events page or by following us on Facebook.

Dakota West Credit Union Awards Financial Literacy Education Grant To McLean County School

(WATFORD CITY, ND, 13 March 2020) – Recognizing the importance of personal financial literacy in North Dakota youth, Dakota West Credit Union awarded its first Financial Literacy Education Grant to Suzy Jacobson of Washburn Public School. Jacobson will present a program designed to teach students where money comes from and where it goes to her fifth and sixth grade students.

The goal of the Financial Literacy Education Grants is to award teachers $250 to bring financial education into their classrooms and educate their students on the importance of focusing on personal financial responsibility.

“I would like my students to get a basic understanding of money – where does it come from? How and why do we save? Most kids think that parents’ money is endless,” wrote Jacobson

Dakota West staff members will partner with Jacobson to develop her program, and the be on hand at the school to help facilitate the topics later this spring. Jacobson’s winning grant was announced on Thursday, March 12 on Dakota West Credit Union’s Facebook page.

“Helping them understand the concepts behind money movement is a good place to begin understanding personal financial responsibility.” Juliet Jones, Marketing Coordinator for Dakota West Credit Union offered when asked about the purpose of the grants.

Established in 1941, each of the Dakota West Credit Union branches and its members and employees help grow the Dakota West family with exceptional commitment to building relationships and strengthening communities. Offering grants to teachers within its communities continues its focus on this growth through the next generation, and highlights one of the core values of Dakota West: Responsibility.

With branches throughout west and central North Dakota, including Washburn, Dakota West Credit Union is dedicated to helping its members grow with comprehensive, competitive financial products partnered with personal, professional service. To learn more about its services and communities, visit http://www.dakotawestcu.com/member-services/.

Dakota West Credit Union Offers Financial Literacy Education Grants to Local Schools

Recognizing the importance of personal financial literacy in North Dakota youth, Dakota West Credit Union invites teachers from kindergarten through high school throughout the communities it serves to apply for Financial Literacy Education Grants. The goal of the grants is to award teachers $250 to bring financial education into their classrooms and educate their students on the importance of focusing on personal financial responsibility.

“Helping young children understand that debit and credit cards are connected to money can be an idea that as adults, we should consider if children understand where that money goes” Juliet Jones, Marketing Coordinator for Dakota West Credit Union offered when asked about the purpose of the grants. “Helping them understand the concepts behind money movement is a good place to begin understanding personal financial responsibility.”

“Financial responsibility only grows with our children. As juniors and seniors begin to consider life after high school, understanding the financial process behind applying for and receiving college financial aid, knowing how credit scores impact their futures, and considering the added expenses when buying a vehicle are important reasons to make financial education an ongoing process,” Jones added.

Dakota West hopes teachers throughout western North Dakota embrace this opportunity to receive funding to help students prepare for the financial choices they will face. Interested teachers can download the grant application here. While teachers do not need to be members of Dakota West Credit Union to apply or receive a grant, they do need to work at schools within the Dakota West branch region.

The Financial Literacy Education Grants application period will continue through Monday, February 24 to allow teachers time to formulate ideas as to how these grants might be used in their classrooms to benefit their students. Dakota West staff members will partner with the winning teachers to develop their programs, and the be on hand at the schools to help facilitate the topics later this spring.

Winners will be announced on Thursday, March 12 on Dakota West Credit Union’s Facebook page. Dakota West also offers teachers links to existing resources and offers teachers ideas on how to engage their schools and communities in developing program ideas.