Virginia Banks to Virtually Host more than 420 High School Seniors for VBA Bank Day Scholarship Program
Beginning Monday, March 15th, banks across Virginia will virtually host more than 420 high school seniors to participate in Bank Day, a statewide effort sponsored by the Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) Education Foundation and the VBA Emerging Bank Leaders. The purpose of the program is to expose students to the banking industry and provide an opportunity for the students to learn about banking, careers in banking, financial services and the vital role banks across Virginia play in their communities.
The third Tuesday in March was declared Bank Day by the Virginia General Assembly in 1991 and Virginia banks are proud to host students for this important program. From their experience, participating students will write an essay for the chance to win a scholarship. Six regional scholarships of $2,500 each will be awarded by the VBA, and from those six winners a statewide runner-up and overall statewide winner will be chosen. The statewide runner-up will receive an additional $3,000 scholarship – $3,500 in total – and the overall statewide winner will receive an additional $5,000 scholarship – $7,500 in total. There will also be six honorable mention scholarships of $1,000 each. In all, twelve students statewide will receive scholarships totaling $29,000.
“Bank Day is one of the best short-term experiences for students—the opportunity to learn about the many services that banks offer and the ways Virginia banks support the communities they serve, and to start the networking that often leads to part-time and summer jobs, scholarships, and a start on a career path in the financial world,” said Bruce Whitehurst, president & CEO of the Virginia Bankers Association.
The follow banks will serve as virtual hosts for this year’s program:
- American National Bank & Trust Company
- Atlantic Union Bank
- Bank of Botetourt
- Bank of Clarke County
- Benchmark Community Bank
- Blue Ridge Bank
- Burke & Herbert Bank
- C&F Bank
- Chesapeake Bank
- Essex Bank
- F&M Bank
- Farmers Bank
- First Bank, Virginia
- First National Bank
- Freedom Bank of Virginia
- New Peoples Bank
- Oak View National Bank
- Old Point National Bank
- Powell Valley National Bank
- Skyline National Bank
- Sonabank
- The Bank of Fincastle
- The Bank of Marion
- United Bank
- Village Bank
- Virginia Partners Bank
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About Virginia Bankers Association Education Foundation
The Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) formed the VBA Education Foundation in 2007 with funding from the majority of VBA member banks for the Walter Ayers Fund for Financial Education. The Foundation’s mission is to improve personal financial literacy and economic education in all public and private schools in the Commonwealth. The Foundation recognizes the importance of economic education and financial literacy in Virginia and supports the banking industry as a key participant in these areas. For more information, visit www.vabankers.org/vba-education-foundation.