TD Bank Asks Young Savers to Share Their Penny Saving Thoughts

CHERRY HILL, N.J. and PORTLAND, Maine, July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, is celebrating the 10^th anniversary of its signature Penny Arcade machine by hitting the road and asking kids about saving. The Penny Arcade is a free, fun, interactive, coin-counting machine that is a great tool for savings and teaching children about financial literacy. To mark the anniversary, TD Bank is launching the Penny Arcade Anniversary Video Contest. Young savers will have the opportunity to say what "saving" means to them for a chance to win a $5,000 scholarship.

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Throughout the summer, TD Bank ambassadors will be on the road at ten events from Maine to Florida greeting families and inviting children ages 6-12 to step into a TD Bank "Penny Pod" and explain what saving means to them. Children will be asked to share their thoughts on savings with the hope that they and their families will start thinking about the importance of financial literacy. The public will have a chance to vote on their favorite video in each of the ten regions. Video will be uploaded to the TD Bank media room (https://mediaroom.tdbank.com) for voting. One finalist from each region with the most votes will receive a $100 TD Bank gift card. From the ten finalists, one grand prize winner will be selected by a panel of TD Bank judges to receive a $5,000 scholarship. The grand prize winner will be announced in October 2010.

"For more than 10 years, by piggy bank, wagon, or by coat pocket, coins find their way to TD Bank's Penny Arcade," said Fred Graziano, head of retail banking, TD Bank. "Penny Arcade has been a resource for so many: teaching children about money, saving coin-counting fees for non-profit groups, and helping us and others raise money for worthy causes.  Penny Arcade exemplifies the TD Bank brand and our convenience model. It is only fitting that we celebrate her 10^th anniversary with a fun, savings contest."

Penny Arcade is one of TD Bank's most unique features and delivers the convenience for which TD Bank is so well known. Penny Arcade is free to anyone who uses it, even if not yet a TD Bank Customer.  

While other banks may turn customers away because they "don't accept loose coins," TD Bank welcomes and encourages people to save their money from an early age. Some fun facts about TD Bank's Penny Arcade:

• The Federal Reserve once turned to TD Bank (then Commerce Bancorp) when it needed more pennies to inject into America's monetary system.
• Penny Arcade is a vital part of TD Bank's "Green" strategy. Reusing coins reduces the need for new coins to be produced, lowering environmental impacts and preserving natural resources.  
• The coins counted at TD Bank's Penny Arcade in a year are enough to fill 6,500 tractor-trailers.
• Penny Arcade can count 3,500 coins per minute
• The machine is tested at least three times a day to make sure it's working properly
• In 2009, we counted more than 31 billion coins…50% were pennies!

About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 15 largest commercial banks in the United States with $160 billion in assets, and provides customers with a full range of financial products and services at more than 1,100 convenient locations from Maine to Florida. Effective April 16, 2010, TD Bank has acquired certain assets of Riverside National Bank of Florida, First Federal Bank of North Florida and AmericanFirst Bank, and currently operates under those trade names. TD Bank, N.A., is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Portland, Maine. For more information, visit www.tdbank.com.  

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: TD) of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America and one of the few banks in the world rated Aaa by Moody's.

SOURCE TD Bank