MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Global life insurer Manulife recently held a virtual graduation ceremony for more than 100 public elementary school students in Pasig City, as part of its award-winning Peso Smart financial literacy program.
Students from Francisco Legaspi Memorial School and Buting Elementary School make up the first batch of graduates of Peso Smart x RecoveREADS, a distance learning program. Students were given Peso Smart learning kits that included an activity journal based on Manulife’s modules that teach children the basics of saving, budgeting, and investing, as well as school supplies. The learning kits also contained Manulife’s Peso Smart storybooks, Manny and Liv and Yaman Bayan, which aim to make learning smart money habits more fun, and to promote meaningful family interactions as parents teach their kids at home.
“Peso Smart started in 2017 as a weekly face-to-face classroom program, where Manulife employees volunteered to teach public school students the value of good financial habits. The pandemic presented an opportunity for us to evolve our program so we can continue to support young students, even while they studied from home,” shared Melissa Henson, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Manulife Philippines.
“Through our partnership with Corazon Sanchez Atayde Memorial Foundation (CSAMF) and the support of Honorable Mayor Vico Sotto of Pasig City, we launched Peso Smart x RecoveREADS. This partnership has allowed us to continue empowering young minds and preparing them for a financially secure future,” Henson added.
As learning money management may be more relevant than ever, CSAMF volunteers and teachers from Francisco Legaspi Memorial School and Buting Elementary School used Manulife’s Peso Smart storybooks and modules as tools to help guide young students towards smart financial habits that will give them confidence to take charge of their future.
“The Peso Smart financial literacy modules have truly enriched our existing RecoveREADS program, because these add to our wealth of learning materials so we can help more children in marginalized communities bridge the learning gap, and become more financially savvy by applying basic math and reading skills,” said Margarita Atayde, CSAMF Executive Director.
“As Filipino students continue to adapt to the demands of distance learning, Peso Smart x RecoveREADS – Pasig City’s first financial literacy program specifically for children — has become a helpful tool for our students, enabling them to learn important life skills such as saving, budgeting, and investing,” shared Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto. “The role of financial literacy is critical as it instills financial discipline to help you make informed decisions, lead better lives, and even thrive in a crisis. So, we need to start early in teaching children smart money habits, because it makes a big difference in the kind of future they will build.”
For more information about Manulife’s Peso Smart, visit http://manulife.pub/PesoSmart or www.manulife.com.ph.
