OneUnited Bank, the largest Blackowned bank in the U.S., has announced the winners of its 11th annual “I Got Bank! Youth Essay & Art Contest.”

They are Travis Brown, 8, Hialeah, Fla.; Gilana Freeman, 12, Dallas, TX; Ariel Hartman, 10, Tamarac, Fla.; Amel Johns, 12, Washington, DC; Jackson Lennox, 12, Sunrise Fla.; Aziza McKay, 10, Dorchester, MA; Ada Nazneen, 10, Rocklin, CA; Kylie Olibrice, 9, Miami, Fla.; Shalena Prakash, 11, Duarte, CA; Christian Turner, 9, Los Angeles, CA.

Each of the ten youth winners are awarded a $1,000 savings account.

Each winner expressed how their families encouraged them to learn about money and how to use money for a purpose.

The panel of judges included Teri Williams, the bank’s president & chief operating officer. Williams wrote the book “I Got Bank! What My Grandad Taught Me About Money” (Beckham) after she discovered the lack of books geared toward educating urban youth about financial literacy.

“This year we were excited to see and read how children are obtaining knowledge about money and sharing financial experiences with their families,” Williams said. “Congratulations to our winners and their families for making financial literacy a core value.”

The “I Got Bank!” youth essay & art contest is part of a larger OneUnited Bank initiative to make financial literacy a core value of the Black community.

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OneUnited offered a free copy of the “I Got Bank!” book on their website to assist parents who are homeschooling their children.

OneUnited Bank also launched its Financial Education Center with online playlists on Financial Basics, Major Life Decisions, Starting a Career, Small Business and Preventing Elder Fraud.

To learn more about past I Got Bank winners, visit the OneUnited Bank Financial Literacy Blog.