By Celeste Schwitters
Celeste Schwitters is SVP, head of community accounts at Visa. ABA Foundation works with nearly 1,000 banks to provide financial education to more than 500,000 consumers annually.
For community financial institutions, this work is not new. It is foundational. Across the country, bankers have long played a hands-on role in education for students and families, reinforcing practical financial skills that support better decisions today and greater opportunity tomorrow. That commitment is especially visible on Teach Children to Save Day, when local professionals step into classrooms and community spaces to engage students directly in conversations about saving, budgeting, credit and financial responsibility.
As how young people learn and communicate continues to evolve, so too must the ways we bring financial education to life.
One program that does this particularly well is Lights, Camera, Save!, the American Bankers Association Foundation’s annual national video contest. Designed for teens, the program invites students to explore core finance topics by creating short videos that explain concepts such as saving, credit and smart money management in their own words and through their own creative lens.
Community financial institutions play a central role in making the program successful. Bankers mentor participants locally, encourage participation and help elevate student voices from their communities to a national stage. At Visa, we are proud to sponsor Lights, Camera, Save! in support of this work, helping amplify a platform that reflects the leadership community financial institutions already bring to financial education. This commitment complements other Visa Community Solutions, including co‑branded financial education comics, exclusive white papers, Portfolio Insights and more, along with resources such PracticalMoneySkills.com.
What makes the program so effective is its ability to meet students where they are. When young people are empowered to teach and create, financial literacy becomes more relatable, engaging and memorable. The result is not just awareness, but confidence that can shape financial decisions well beyond the classroom.
One grand-prize winning bank whose selected recipient, Adam Costa from Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California, saw firsthand how Lights, Camera, Save! extended traditional financial education by allowing students to take ownership of the message itself. As Janet Garufis, CEO And Chairman of Montecito Bank & Trust, notes:
“Lights, Camera, Save! provided a platform for students in our local communities to share their perspectives and demonstrate that financial education can be engaging, creative and empowering. Community banks strive to equip local students with financial knowledge through in-person curriculums and activities. But when it is students creating financial literacy content and messaging, it is instantly more relatable and motivating among their peers. This particular initiative celebrates that ingenuity but also highlights the role community banks play in supporting young people as they build confidence with money long before life’s most significant financial decisions begin.”
That idea around building confidence early sits at the heart of Financial Literacy Month. The goal is not simply to introduce financial terms, but to help young people feel capable navigating real-world decisions as they arise.
Another ABA-valued community bank partner, Farmers National Bank in Kentucky, echoed this perspective. “When students learn about and explain financial concepts in their own words, it shows they are truly engaged,” says Marty Gibson, Farmers National Bank’s president and CEO. “Programs like Lights, Camera, Save! make financial literacy engaging and accessible, and they position community banks as trusted partners in lifelong financial learning.”
As Financial Literacy Month comes to a close, Lights, Camera, Save! serves as a timely reminder that financial education is most powerful when it is practical, personal and rooted in community. Through sponsorships like this one, community banks continue to play a vital role in preparing the next generation with the skills and confidence to succeed, while reinforcing their role as trusted local partners that invest not only in financial services, but also in the communities they serve.
