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Local High School Seniors Mobilize for Mad City Money Scholarship Competition and a Chance to Win up to a Total of $25,000

Students to Navigate Futuristic ‘Mad City’, Managing Jobs, Income, Family, and Debt as Adults                                        

 

MENTOR, Ohio, March 5, 2025 – Cardinal Credit Union, a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative serving the community through high-performance banking products and services, is co-hosting its annual Mad City Money Scholarship Competition from March 6 to April 2 at five area high schools, including Eastlake North High School, Lake Catholic High School, Mentor High School, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School, and Willoughby South High School. Playing a simulated game of life, participating teams will compete for up to $5,000 in scholarships per school, totaling $25,000 across all five schools.

Mad City Money challenges high school seniors with managing the financial responsibilities of adulthood. During the 90-minute live, in-person competition, teams of students will visit on-site merchants to purchase housing, transportation, food, clothing, daycare and other wants and needs, all while balancing a budget.

Winners are chosen based on their ability to achieve an average balance of $100 as a team and to turn in their competition packages within the allotted time. Cardinal employees will be on-site to review and score the proposed budgets based on the team’s math and budgeting skills. First place teams can win $2,250, second place teams, $1,500, and third place teams, $1,200.

Joe Glavan, Director of Workforce Development at Mentor Public Schools, emphasizes the importance of real-world preparation in education. “At Mentor Schools, we love engaging students in this fun exercise where they learn valuable money management skills before adulthood. Managing money is crucial, and we believe it’s essential for preparing our students for their next steps in life. We deeply appreciate Cardinal’s commitment to the community and their support in providing the perfect level of educational assistance to our students.'”

The competition will take place at each area high school over a one-month period, as follows:

  • Mentor High School at 9:00 am on March 6
  • Notre Dame Cathedral Latin High School at 11:00 am on March 12
  • Willoughby South High School at 9:00 am on March 19
  • Eastlake North High School at 9:00 am on March 20
  • Lake Catholic High School at 9:30 am on April 2

“Cardinal Credit Union is once again excited to partner with area high schools for the fifteenth consecutive year as part of our financial education initiatives in Northeastern Ohio,” said Christine Blake, CEO of Cardinal Credit Union. “The Mad City Money Scholarship games exemplify our commitment to delivering financial benefits to the community in an engaging, dynamic, and educational way. This represents the culmination of our work in the local school systems each year.”

Students wishing to compete for cash and other prizes can sign up here:

Cardinal offers integrated financial education programs to five area high schools and Lakeland Community College, where Cardinal operates in-school branches. It is here that students have a chance to learn more about positive money management through a hands-on approach to finances along with an eight-week course in managing their finances.

About CARDINAL CREDIT UNION

Headquartered in Mentor, Ohio, Cardinal Credit Union is a 72-year-old fiercely independent, member-owned not-for-profit financial cooperative that offers a broad range of banking products and services that people need and use every day – including checking accounts, CDs, credit cards, auto loans, debt-consolidation loans, mortgages and more. As a not-for-profit financial institution, any profits earned by the credit union are returned to its members in the form of fewer fees, lower loan rates, and higher savings interest. Everyone is welcome, and membership is instant. Banking can be done online, via Cardinal’s app, or by stopping at one of its seven branches. For more information, visit the website at https://www.cardinalcu.com/.

 

 

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