2024 Entries Reveal Themes Of Leadership and Hope

(Black PR Wire) Boston, MA – OneUnited Bank, the largest Black-owned bank in the U.S., is proud to announce the winners of its 14th annual “I Got Bank! Youth Essay & Art Contest.” Each of the ten (10) youth winners are awarded a $1,000 savings account.

The 2024 winners are Alana Williams, 10, Charlotte, NC, Dylan Prakash, 11, Duarte, CA, Malia Spurlin, 12, Cerritos, CA, Zora Rae Darby, 11, Baldwin, NY, Serenity Earth, 12, Burlington, NJ, Carter M. Lang, 8, Los Angeles, CA, Laila Zellers, 10, Los Angeles, CA, Grant Booker, 11, Gardenia, CA, McKinley Sabrina Murphy, 10, Baldwin, NY, Kali Baker, 10, Hawthorne, CA.

Each winner expressed the importance of financial literacy and savings. The panel of judges included Teri Williams, the bank’s President & Chief Operating Officer and Sherri Brewer, the bank’s Senior Vice President, Chief Retail Officer.

President Williams stated, “In 2024, we saw a shift in themes towards taking leadership in matters of financial literacy. I am proud that our I Got Bank annual competition plants the seeds of financial responsibility, inspiring hope in young minds and instilling a personal mission to shape a vibrant financial future with the lessons learned along the way.”

Williams wrote the book “I Got Bank! What My Grandad Taught Me About Money” (Beckham), after discovering the lack of books geared toward educating urban youth about financial literacy.

The “I Got Bank!” youth essay & art contest is part of a larger OneUnited Bank initiative to make financial literacy a core and commonplace value of the Black community. To learn more about past I Got Bank winners, please visit the OneUnited Bank Financial Literacy Blog.

OneUnited Bank also offers its robust Financial Education Center with online playlists on Financial Basics, Major Life Decisions, Starting a Career, Small Business and Preventing Elder Fraud. OneUnited Bank hopes its efforts will improve the financial skills of children and adults throughout the country.

Media Inquiries: Suzan McDowell, Circle of One Marketing, suzan@circleofonemarketing.com, or by phone at 305-576-3790.

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OneUnited Bank

OneUnited Bank (www.oneunited.com) is the largest Black-owned bank in America, the first Black internet bank, a Minority Depository Institution, and a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

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