From saving to buy an MP3 player to saving for college, elementary school students at 19 schools in three states will learn about the importance of saving from M&T Bank volunteers during "National Teach Children to Save Day."

M&T employees will join thousands of bankers across the country visiting local schools tomorrow, April 29th, as part of the American Bankers Association Education Foundation's National Teach Children to Save Day, a financial literacy initiative established in 1997.

"A recent national survey by the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy shows that our high school students get failing grades when it comes to understanding money. Introducing some basic money concepts, such as the importance of saving, to elementary school kids is a good place to start building these basic skills," said M&T Bank President Mark Czarnecki.

  M&T volunteers are teaching students in the following schools:

  New York
  Westminster Community Charter School, Buffalo
  Public School #25, Rochester
  Public School #8 -- Roberto Clemente Elementary, Rochester
  St. Augustine School, Highland

  Pennsylvania
  Logan Elementary, Altoona
  St. John the Evangelist, Altoona
  Camp Curtin Elementary School, Harrisburg
  Central Manor Elementary, Lancaster
  Bensalem High School, Bensalem
  Corpus Christi Elementary, Chambersburg
  West Beaver Elementary, Lewisburg
  Middleburg Elementary, Middleburg
  Spring Grove Elementary, York
  Paradise Elementary, York
  Bellefonte Elementary School, Bellefonte

  Maryland
  Violetville Elementary School, Baltimore
  George Washington Elementary School, Baltimore
  Lake Arbor Elementary School, Prince George's County
  Sargent Shriver Elementary School, Silver Spring

The bank offers the following tips to help parents promote good saving habits:

  --  Make saving visible -- putting change in a jar helps introduce the
      concept of saving.

  --  Check your local library or bookstore for children's books that teach
      basic financial concepts.

  --  Help kids open their own bank savings accounts and make deposits
      regularly. Many banks have children's accounts that have no fee or
      minimum balance requirements.

  --  Talk to your children about budgeting and help them budget for an
      outing or purchase.

  --  Teach children how an ATM machine works and explain that you have to
      put money into a bank before you can take it out.

The ABA Education Foundation's National Teach Children to Save Day is held every April, giving bankers an opportunity to address the importance of saving with children across the country.

M&T Bank serves customers at 690 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.