Young & Free Alberta

Servus Credit Union's Young & Free Alberta was the winner of the 2008 Groundswell Award in the Talking category beating A-list competitors like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, America Express, GM and Rubbermaid to name a few.

We launched Young & Free because we felt strongly that young people were not being well served by large faceless financial institutions. Young people in Alberta didn't have a voice when it came to getting what they needed financially. So we launched a search for a spokesperson and gave that person a platform: the Young & Free Alberta website.

In order to listen to and learn from Alberta youth, Myles (our 2009 winner) encourages dialogue in many ways on the Young & Free Alberta website. You can:

• Add comments to the blog
• Submit poll ideas
• Submit events to the calendar
• Add to the free stuff directory
• Ask our experts a question

Not only do we hear directly from you about what's important to you, EVERY interaction on our site earns you extra entries into our monthly prize draws.

Myles is a full-time Servus Credit Union employee. His job includes travelling, attending and speaking at events throughout the province and posting daily blog entries and weekly video blogs on the Young & Free Alberta website. This means he's looking for YOU to get your thoughts and opinions about what you need from your financial institution. Read and watch how Myles won this job of a lifetime.

Our 2008 Y&F Alberta Spokesperson, Larissa Walkiw from St. Albert, did an extraordinary job. You can learn all about her year here.

The ultimate goal of Young & Free is to help our credit union connect with young people and to help us really understand how we can serve the under 25 Alberta crowd better than any other financial institution.

If you think you've got what it takes to be the voice of Alberta's under 25 crowd, make sure to sign-up for e-updates and we will let you know when the 2010 search is taking place!

Servus Credit Union is proud to offer the Young & Free chequing account—the first of its kind in Alberta.

• Withdrawals from your own or other credit union Acculink® ATMs
• Transfers between accounts
• Point-of-sale transactions
• Global payment card transactions
• Cheques
• Bill payments
• Internet banking and teleservice

If you are between 17 and 25 years of age, you qualify! Fill out the simple application form and we'll contact you to get you set up, or you can visit any of our branches to open an account.

So many banking sites tell young people what they should be doing – and in the most boring ways! The Young & Free Spokester has a platform to answer questions and concerns that come directly from YOU! And Servus Credit Union is always there in the background, listening and responding, making sure the products we offer match your real needs.

But your whole life isn't just about finding out how to avoid identity theft, or how to live on a budget now that you're living away from home. It's about living! And that's why it's also Myle's job to hunt down and share the fun things that matter to you, like cool things on the internet, or how to score free James Bond DVDs! The typical financial institution won't waste space on cool stuff like that – so enjoy this website, your personal portal to everything that is Young & Free!

Did you know that Alberta is not the only Young & Free Zone in North America? Other under 25-year-old crowds have the same questions and concerns about their financial lives as you do.

That's why we've given our Young & Free Spokesters a mission: during their term, reach out to the young people in their regions and research a number of financial literacy topics. Turn that research into creative, entertaining, educational and memorable videos. These videos make up our Living Young & Free Video Series, and are available on the Young & Free sites and on YouTube. Credit unions throughout the world are able to post these videos on their sites as well, turning Young & Free into a truly worldwide movement.

Young people shouldn't have to wait on hold, make an appointment, or jump through other hoops to get simple answers to simple questions. Consider this series of videos your 24/7 financial resource!

Servus Credit Union, based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is the original Young & Free credit union. The Alberta program launched on October 1, 2007.

Servus Credit Union is a full-service member-owned financial institution serving more than 367,000 members through a network of 100 locations in 64 Alberta communities. Servus has nearly $10 billion in assets, ranking it third among Canada's credit unions and the largest in Alberta. The credit union provides a complete line of banking services, including registered accounts, financing, investments, insurance, commercial banking, 24-hour on-line and telephone banking.

Myles Peterman, from Edmonton, is the 2009 Young & Free Alberta Spokesperson.

Take some time and check out other Young & Free sites. While you are there, make sure to say hi from Alberta!

South Carolina Federal Credit Union is the official Young & Free South Carolina credit union. The South Carolina program launched on February 2, 2009.

South Carolina Federal Credit Union is one of the 100 largest credit unions in the United States. More than 155,000 members own and belong to the not-for-profit financial cooperative, which has over $1.4 billion in assets. South Carolina Federal is a community-chartered credit union. Anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Dorchester, Berkeley, Charleston, Orangeburg, Clarendon, Calhoun or Georgetown counties, and most of the Columbia area, is eligible to join. South Carolina Federal has 23 branches and more than 80 ATMs throughout Charleston, Columbia, Georgetown, Orangeburg, St. Matthews and Manning. In 2008, South Carolina Federal for the second consecutive year was voted one of the Best Places to Work in the state.

Josh Sutherand, from Summerville, is the 2009 Young & Free SC Spokesperson.

» Visit the Young & Free South Carolina website

TDECU, based in Lake Jackson, Texas is the first US Young & Free credit union. The Texas program launched on August 8, 2008.

Founded in 1955, TDECU is a not-for-profit financial cooperative with over 125,000 members and more than $1.3 billion in assets. TDECU currently has 14 branch locations and offers a complete selection of convenient, innovative, and competitive products and services — including savings, checking, certificates of deposit, IRAs, money market accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, free online banking and bill pay, investment services, and much more. Members can also access over 32,000 surcharge-free Allpoint™ ATMs nationwide.

DeAndre' Upshaw, a Baylor University student from Waco, is the 2009 Young & Free Texas Spokesperson.

» Visit the Young & Free Texas website

Share your photos with Y&F Alberta by tagging them "youngfreealberta" on Flickr.

Content of Young & Free Alberta is provided as information only and is not intended to serve as advice or representation whatsoever. Investigate these topics further by contacting appropriate advisors.