Region – Avidia Bank has revamped their Avidia Savings Adventure Account, which is their savings account designed specifically for children. The account includes their mascot, known as Max McNickel, who was named ten years ago by Avidia Employee, Patrice Wozniak, through a naming contest. Max is a white piggy bank that shares his savings adventures in the branches and on social media.
In 2016, the Avidia Marketing Team had Max created into a stuffed animal form in an effort to bring greater awareness to financial literacy for children. The stuffed animals were given out at community events and through scavenger hunts.
Recently, Megg Desrosier, an Avidia Bank employee, brought Max to life by animating him. This led to the creation of a coloring and activity book featuring Max and the Max Savings Adventure Starter Kit for children.
Desrosier, a local artist from Hudson, commented that “It is such an exciting opportunity to share my talent in order to create something that will have a lasting effect on children and their future financial habits.”
Throughout the new activity book, Max brings children along in his adventures that include coloring pages, word finds, quizzes and savings experiences. In addition to the book, on the first Saturday of each month all Avidia locations will feature a Max Adventure Day where children can come in and collect prizes if they make a deposit into their account.
In the coming year, select Avidia locations will also be hosting “Max Crafternoon” events that will provide an activity tied into financial literacy for children.
“We strongly believe that good savings habits begin at a young age. Avidia is committed to reinforcing the importance of systematic savings while making it fun and exciting! We’re proud to have such amazing talent like Megg’s within our organization that can really bring this program to life,” said CarrieAnne Cormier, vice president of retail operations and strategy at Avidia Bank.
Now that Max has his own activity book, stuffed animal and social media accounts, it’s time for him to meet people in the community. Your child can open their own Adventure Savings Account in any one of Avidia’s ten branches. To see more of Max’s adventures and to find out about the Max Crafternoon events, follow him on Instagram and Twitter @BankSmartMax.
