Cardinal Credit Union Invests in Youth Financial Skills Through 2026 Mad City Money Scholarship Competition

Christine Blake

​As part of its focus on youth financial education, Cardinal Credit Union, a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative serving the community through high-performance banking products and services, is hosting its annual Mad City Money Scholarship competition where high school seniors compete for $5,000 in college scholarships. The competition will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on April 29 at Lake Catholic High School in Mentor. 
 
Cardinal’s Mad City Money competition challenges high school seniors with managing the financial responsibilities of adulthood. During the two-hour live, in-person competition, teams of students will visit on-site merchants to purchase housing, transportation, food, clothing, daycare and other wants and needs, all while balancing a budget.
 
According to research from Harvard Kennedy School, students exposed to financial education are more likely to avoid unnecessary debt, save regularly and plan for long-term goals.
 
The competition is open to seniors from five area high schools, including Eastlake North High School, Lake Catholic High School, Mentor High School, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin School, and Willoughby South High School. The event represents the culmination of Cardinal’s investment in youth financial education for the 2025-2026 school year.
 
“Financial education for youth sets a firm foundation for a bright future,” said Christine Blake, CEO of Cardinal Credit Union. “When students learn the ins and outs of budgeting, the importance of saving, how credit works and what effect taxes have, they are learning financial responsibility. This knowledge really helps set them up for success in life.”
 
The winning team of three seniors will be chosen based on their math and budgeting skills and ability to turn in their competition packages on time. Cardinal employees will be on-site to review and score the proposed budgets.
 
Tom McKrill, principal, Lake Catholic High School, agrees that youth financial education is a critical pillar of today’s high school curriculum. “At Lake Catholic, we are all about supporting initiatives like the Mad Money Scholarship competition, which gives students real-world experience in a fun and engaging environment. We recognize Cardinal’s commitment to the community and their support in providing the ideal level of educational assistance to our students. Cardinal’s dedication to the community and to student success is making a meaningful difference for our student body.”
 
Cardinal offers integrated financial education programs to five area high schools and Lakeland Community College, where Cardinal operates in-school branches and offers accounts to students. Its financial education curriculum targets high school juniors and seniors and provides students with an eight-week program on money management budgeting, security and more.

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