"Since November 2002, the Summit Bank Foundation and ANG Newspapers Educational Services Department, have joined forces to empower our youth with the financial basics they need. It has been and continues to be a very worthy partnership. Nationwide nearly a third of our high school seniors already use a credit card and some also have an ATM card. Yet fewer than 30% of young Americans are given the opportunity to study personal finance or money management in school. Since the start of this unit approximately 100,000+ students throughout the entire Bay Area have participated in this relevant program. I am proud to be a part of this positive educational process and look forward to maintaining the program for future generations."
- Sherri Goldsmith, Educational Partnerships Manager for all the ANG Newspapers
OUR UNIQUE MISSION AND ORGANIZATION :
The Summit Bank Foundation was created in 1998 by dedicated Bay Area business professionals under the direction of Summit Bank. The bank started the foundation as a lightening rod of support for the East Bay and to rally community-minded businesspeople to the call.
Summit Bank supports the infrastructure of the foundation as its gift to the community.
The mission of the Summit Bank Foundation is threefold:
- To develop and promote financial literacy learning opportunities throughout the Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
- To support general education endeavors throughout the East Bay.
- To recognize and encourage corporate volunteerism and support of the nonprofit community.
Summit Bank Foundation produces and sponsors a program called the ABCs of Financial Literacy to promote financial responsibility and the application of math skills to everyday money matters in a fun and educational environment. Students learn the basics including writing checks and balancing a checkbook, credit card use and the difference between needs versus wants.
We provide the comprehensive K-12 th grade curriculum guides, lesson plans and a weekly set of newspapers at no cost to the students and educators who participate in our program.
Realizing that math skills learned in the classroom have real-life practical applications enables our students to be transformed into responsible, financially literate citizens. In 2006, our financial literacy program was implemented in 425 elementary, junior high and high school classrooms, reaching approximately 25,000 students throughout the Bay Area! Each year, more and more teachers request our curricula thereby recognizing it as an integral part of their students' education.
The foundation has created two annual fundraising events: The Annual Celebrity Golf Invitational (July) and the Red and White Ball (December). The funds generated from these two events go directly to our financial literacy programs and the students in our community.
In addition to the tireless support of literacy programs that have so far reached over 700,000 students in East Bay schools, we have also given hundreds of thousands of dollars to other East Bay individuals and organizations in need.
For information regarding our beneficiaries please refer to the scholarships page.
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