Union Bank, Operation HOPE Teach Financial Education at Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley's Flowery Elementary School Site

UNION BANK, OPERATION HOPE TEACH FINANCIAL EDUCATION AT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF SONOMA VALLEY’S FLOWERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SITE

4th graders recognized for participating in HOPE’s “Banking on Our Future” program taught by bank volunteers

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, April 22, 2015 – As part of its ongoing commitment to financial education, Union Bank partnered with financial dignity nonprofit Operation HOPE (HOPE), and Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley to educate elementary students about the basics of personal finance. Union Bank volunteers Robin Gold and Molly Fedorchak began teaching HOPE’s award-winning youth financial literacy program, Banking on Our Future, to members of Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley at Flowery Elementary School in March and April. The five-week course culminated with a recognition ceremony to celebrate the students’ completion of the program on April 8.

This marks the first class taught at Flowery Elementary School and the sixth group of students to participate in HOPE’s Banking on Our Future curriculum at Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley. This is also the third group of elementary students to participate in this session with The Club. Previously, the program was taught to high school and middle school students.

The Banking on Our Future curriculum features the Basics of Budgeting, Get Smart About Banking (Checking and Saving Accounts), Fundamentals of Credit, and Introduction to Savings and Investing. There is also a course titled “A Course in Dignity.” Each week, students participating in the program learned practical lessons by using hands-on calculations and real-world examples.

“Union Bank and Operation HOPE have been great partners in financial education to bring the Banking on Our Future curriculum to students at our Club,” said Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley Interim Executive Director Alan Anspach. “The lessons that the students learn each week will serve them for many years to come.”

In the culminating ceremony held April 8, Boys & Girls Clubs, Union Bank, and HOPE executives formally acknowledged and awarded certificates to the students for participating in the program.

“It has been so gratifying to see the progress students make in learning financial concepts through this program each week,” said Union Bank Vice President and Senior Community Relations Officer Molly Fedorchak. “We would like to thank the team at the Sonoma Valley Boys & Girls Club at Flowery Elementary School for their commitment to financial education through these afterschool sessions.”

The classroom edition of Banking on Our Future is a critical element of HOPE’s FIVE MILLION KIDS Initiative aimed at making kids money-smart and lowering the school dropout rate in America. Union Bank was the first national sponsor of the initiative. Since 2011, the bank has partnered with Operation HOPE at a dozen Boys & Girls Clubs, reaching more than 300 youth.

HOPE Youth Empowerment Program Manager Rebecca Blanco said, “The Banking on Our Future program is all about empowering youth through age-appropriate curriculum that is engaging and fun to provide information that will serve students well into the future.”

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Banking on Our Future was designed to elevate the dignity, hope, and economic self-sufficiency of people in low-wealth communities through financial empowerment. Since its inception, the program has reached more than 790,000 students in more than 700 schools and community-based organizations in the U.S. and South Africa.

About MUFG Union Bank, N.A.

MUFG Union Bank, N.A., is a full-service bank with offices across the United States. We provide a wide spectrum of corporate, commercial, retail banking and wealth management solutions to meet the needs of customers. We also offer an extensive portfolio of value-added solutions for customers, including investment banking, personal and corporate trust, global custody, transaction banking, capital markets, and other services. With assets of $113.1 billion (USD), as of December 31, 2014, MUFG Union Bank, N.A. has strong capital reserves, credit ratings and capital ratios relative to peer banks. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. is a proud member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE: MTU), one of the world’s largest financial organizations with total assets of approximately ¥279 trillion (JPY) of $2.3 trillion (USD)¹, as of December 31, 2014. The corporate headquarters (principal executive office) for MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation, which is the financial holding company, and MUFG Union Bank, N.A. is in New York City. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. main banking office is in San Francisco.

1 Exchange rate of USD=¥119.78 as of December 31, 2014

About Operation HOPE, Inc.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Operation HOPE promotes financial dignity through financial literacy and education tools to underserved communities. Through its four core portfolios, the organization has provided youth and adult financial literacy, economic preparedness, digital empowerment, promoted home ownership, and assisted with foreclosure prevention to more than 2 million individuals, families, and small business owners. Established in 1992, after the worst urban riot in U.S. history HOPE celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, continuing its “silver rights” mission to assist underserved communities through financial literacy programs that increase net worth and promotes financial dignity. To learn more about Operation HOPE visit www.operationhope.org; follow us our Twitter: @operationhope and like us on Facebook: Operation HOPE, Inc.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley

The mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley is to provide positive opportunities for youth to learn and succeed. The Club is the only multi-location, year round youth facility offering afterschool education, enrichment, and prevention programs to more than 2,000 kids in Sonoma Valley. The Club is a local leader working with young people from disadvantaged economic, social, and family circumstances to improve school outcomes, and provide proven enrichment opportunities.

The Club inspires children and teens with hope and opportunity — as well as practical tools that encourage our priority outcomes of Academic Success, Good Character & Citizenship, and Healthy Lifestyles. We help Sonoma Valley youth to discover safe environments, successful relationships, a sense of belonging, opportunities for civic engagement and a continuum of positive learning experiences.

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