BBVA Compass and WNBA Cares teach students critical skills for successful futures

SAN ANTONIO, April 16, 2013  /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty BBVA Compass volunteers, a WNBA San Antonio Silver Star and former WNBA and NBA players visited San Antonio's Will Rogers Elementary School today, giving students a morning of financial literacy, fitness and fun.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130416/DA96006)

The visit was part of Team. Works. In Schools, a joint initiative between WNBA Cares and BBVA Compass, the official bank of the NBA and WNBA. Now in its third year, the program has helped give books, tablet computers and life skills to students in nearly 20 underserved public elementary schools across the bank's footprint, and its volunteers have helped refurbish several of the schools.

"We're able to enhance the lives of children in the communities where we work and live through this program," said Joseph Bray, BBVA Compass San Antonio city president. "Our employees are teaching students skills they can use throughout their lives. It's amazing to see the kids' excitement."

On Tuesday, the volunteers — including NBA Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, former NBA legend Felipe Lopez, Silver Star player Sophia Young and WNBA legend Marie Ferdinand Harris — helped fifth-grade students learn about money management through Vault, a web-based financial literacy program administered by EverFi, a leading educational technology company. Sponsored by BBVA Compass and offered throughout the San Antonio Independent School District, the program teaches students about managing personal finances in an interactive and engaging way.

"The Vault program helps connect the dots between students' desires to go to college and the reality of planning for it financially," said Rosa Linda Lomas, principal of Will Rogers Elementary School. "Its integration of real-life math skills makes it a great supplement to our everyday curriculum."

The volunteers taught younger students the value of saving through the BBVA Compass Teach Children to Save curriculum, and read to students in pre-kindergarten through second grades. Each student was given a book to take home through the BBVA Compass' Reading Counts program, and the school received fitness equipment and a mobile computing cart with 30 tablets and a laptop computer from BBVA Compass and the WNBA.

Additionally, the volunteers helped third- and fourth-grade students hone their basketball skills and learn the benefits of healthy, active living during the WNBA Fit Clinic.

"The WNBA Cares event presented an extraordinary opportunity for our students and the community alike," said Aurora Vasquez, a fifth-grade teacher at Will Rogers. "We feel fortunate to have been selected for this experience."

About BBVA Group

BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, is the largest financial institution in Mexico, and has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt region of the United States. Its diversified business is geared toward high-growth markets and relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. BBVA ranks among the leading eurozone banks in terms of return on equity and efficiency. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies best practices. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at www.bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass

BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 708 branches, including 367 in Texas, 93 in Alabama, 79 in Arizona, 65 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 21 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 20 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading Small Business Administration lenders and ranked third in American Banker's 2012 reputation study of the leading 30 banks in the U.S. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com.

About EverFi

EverFi, Inc. is the leading education technology company focused on teaching, assessing, and certifying K-12 and college students in the critical skills they need for life. The company teams with major corporations and foundations to provide the programs at no cost to K-12 schools. Some of America's leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EverFi investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Twitter founder Evan Williams, Rethink Education, New Enterprise Associates, Inc., and Tomorrow Ventures (the investment arm of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt). Learn more at www.everfi.com.

About Vault

Vault™ - Understanding Money is an interactive, new-media learning platform specifically designed to introduce financial literacy skills early in a child's cognitive development. Course topics include saving, budgeting, responsibility and decision-making, credit and debt, careers, income, charity, and more. The course features interactive lessons, games, and story-based activities that challenge kids to make choices in real-life scenarios to best achieve important goals around saving and job planning. The 2.5-hour curriculum aligns with both state and national standards. 

SOURCE BBVA Compass

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