The Desjardins Awards are named for Alphonse Desjardins, the founder of the North American credit union movement.

Besides founding the first credit unions in Canada and the U.S., Desjardins pioneered youth savings clubs and in-school "banks," known as caisses scolaires. He established caisse populaires, cooperative savings, and loan companies to encourage the working classes to save and plan for the future and to provide the credit they needed for economic recovery.

This award honors credit unions, chapters, and leagues for their commitment to both youth and adult financial literacy.

First-place winners for the Desjardins Adult Financial Education Award include:

• Community CU in Lewiston, Maine;
• Electro Savings CU in St. Louis;
• Financial Center FCU in Indianapolis; and
• OSU FCU in Corvallis, Ore

First-place winners for the Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award include:

• Cook Area CU in Cook, Minn;
• CORE FCU in East Syracuse, N.Y.;
• Generations FCU in San Antonio; and
• Summit CU in Madison, Wis

The Maine Credit Union League also received a first place award for their efforts to improve financial literacy for both youth and adults.

The winners will be honored at a GAC reception. All winning entries are on display during the conference in the Welcome Center.