Andre Sigler with the Linwood YMCA, Nicky Lopez with the Kansas City Royals, and Brandon Richardson, VP of Kansas City Credit Union
2nd Summer of Catch Success!
Kansas City Credit Union is proud to once again partner with Kansas City Royals Infielder Nicky Lopez,and the YMCA of Greater Kansas City to launch another season of “Catch Success”, a program to further financial education for KC youth. On Tuesday, April 18th, 2023 a media event was held at the Linwood YMCA to launch the second year of the program. While there, KCCU and Lopez made a $10,000 donation to the Y at the Linwood YMCA/James B. Nutter Community Center. As of this donation, a total of $40,000 will have been donated to fund educational programming at the Linwood Y.
“Catch Success” is part of the YMCA’s 12-week Launch Pad program, in which students in grades 6 through 12 spend their summer in an environment of academic support, enrichment and recreational activities. As part of 5-day-a-week enrichment activities, KCCU staff members visit the Linwood Y weekly and interactively teach the kids about successfully managing money. Over the course of the program kids will learn how to budget their money for both short and long-term purchases, how interest is accrued by saving over time, how to plan for future financial success, professionalism, and much more. Nicky Lopez will join the weekly program several times, working with the kids to help them get excited about financial success!
“I am excited to again work on this program with KCCU and the Y,” said Lopez. “Financial Education isn’t an accident. If no one teaches you how to open a savings account or how to balance a checkbook, the odds of having success with money and staying out of debt are long. Even as pro ballplayers, many of us have a huge learning curve learning how to manage our money for the long term. No ballplayer plays the game forever – choices we make now have an effect on future opportunities. And baseball is a game of numbers – like batting averages and slash lines – we apply some of those examples to make Catch Success more interesting to kids at the Y.”
To add even more excitement to the program, each youth who successfully completes the Catch Success program at the Y will receive a $25 savings account at Kansas City Credit Union – as a head-start toward a lifetime of positive financial experiences.
“The YMCA is both grateful and hopeful about Catch Success,” said Andre Sigler Jr., Associate Executive Director of the Linwood YMCA. “Last years was an unqualified success, and this year will be even better. When athletes like Nicky Lopez and organizations like Kansas City Credit Union step up to help influence the future success of young people in Kansas City, we all win. ‘Catch Success’ is not just a name, it is a hands-on part of our weekly Launch Pad programming at the Linwood Y. The KCCU team has worked with the YMCA team to design a program that is both fun and interesting to kids – one that we think is demonstrating real results. Having Nicky Lopez back for another year and once again making time in his schedule to join us for several sessions is another huge win, the kids absolutely love it! He’s really passionate about this cause and helping this community – and it really shows every time he joins us!”
New Partner in Catch Success
Also helping out with this year’s Catch Success program is the non-profit group, Exceeds Expectations. They are assisting by providing assistance with some of the financial-based curriculum and providing additional tools to make the sessions even more engaging and enjoyable for the kids. You can read more about their founder, Marilyn Chappell, and their mission here.
How to Help
For every new Kansas City Credit Union Member that opens a checking or savings account throughout the duration of the summer Catch Success program KCCU will donate $50 to the Linwood Y to assist with programming. To date, $40,000 has been donated to the Y on the way towards meeting a $50,000 goal. Contact the Kansas City Credit Union today to become a member, or to learn more about the Catch Success financial literacy program.
