LEVITTTOWN, N.Y.– Executives from Jovia Financial Credit Union, along with many Nassau County educators and elected officials joined Commerce Plaza leadership and local teachers, students and parents to mark the complete return of Commerce Plaza’s award-winning business and finance educational program.
With the support from Jovia, Commerce Plaza now returns to 100% capacity, working with local school districts across Nassau and Suffolk counties, the credit union said.
During the re-opening ceremony, representatives of Jovia also introduced Curio, the credit union’s new financial education program and mobile app, developed to incentivize youth with banking features and rewards.
Jovia said it is the first and only Long Island credit union to leverage the power of technology and use it to enhance financial literacy among young people and their families. Curio was designed to be fully integrated within the credit union’s mobile banking and online platforms, it added.
“Commerce Plaza is the perfect location to introduce our new app, Curio, to assist young people to learn how to save, earn and be financially responsible. We are sure that Curio and its many benefits will be well received by a new generation of Jovia members and their parents,” said Peter Purpura, AVP-business development.
Closed during the pandemic and only partially re-opened during the 2021-2022 school year, Jovia said Commerce Plaza is a unique, hands-on educational program for all of Long Island’s 127 districts that wish to participate. The program provides the opportunity to learn about the work world, finances, and economics through a simulated, business environment.
The program is designed for fifth and sixth grade students that take on the role of retail operators and providers of services for consumers, for a full day, following a six-week curriculum in their home schools. More than 73,000 children have been through the program since its inception.
“Educating young people about business, finance and savings is an important part of building a strong foundation for life and careers. Commerce Plaza puts these young people on a path to success, and at Jovia, we share the same mission and vision,” said Chaka Adams, VP-marketing and community relations.
Jovia said its partnership with Commerce Plaza is focused on fostering a heightened desire to achieve financial awareness and success. \”With Curio, parents can immediately start rewarding their children as they learn smart financial habits. The colorful and friendly mobile application and online interface was designed for young people giving them an interactive tool where they can request money from parents, set and track monthly budgets, get paid for chores and borrow money from parents in the form of a loan,” the credit union said.