BUCHANAN — Buchanan Bucks Student Credit Union branch manager Ginger Hendershott gave the rundown of her workday depositing cash and checks: greet customers, help them fill out informational sheets, give them copies of the sheets, put their deposit in the cash box and, once all deposits are collected, count the total amount deposited.

Fourth-grader Henershott and six other Moccasin Elementary students run the credit union with the help of Honor Credit Union employees. The Honor Credit Union branch opened Tuesday at Moccasin, 410 Moccasin St.

The student credit union was co-created by Honor Credit Union and Moccasin. Moccasin students can open an Honor Credit Union Youth Savings Account and then deposit a minimum of $1 every other Tuesday morning when the credit union opens just inside Moccasin’s front doors. Teachers are also able to make deposits into their Honor Credit Union accounts.

Each time a student deposits money in their account at Buchanan Bucks Student Credit Union, they are able to pick a small prize. Students that deposited at the grand opening had their choice between tape measures, Chapstick, pencils and tote bags.

At the end of the month, students are entered into a raffle of a larger prize. Every deposit equates to another submission in the raffle. At the end of the year, teachers and students can will be entered into an even larger raffle.

Moccasin Principal Michael Dunn said the partnership began to be formed at the end of the last school year. The student credit union will help students become familiar with financial literacy. The sooner, the better, he said.

“You can’t start early enough,” he said. “We hear just about how kids come out of school, and they’re still not prepared financially. You see it every day, unfortunately.”

Many of Honor Credit Union’s nearly 20 student branches are located in middle schools and elementary schools, said community assistant vice president Karol Behrle. Most high school students already have accounts.

“We are so excited to have this opportunity to teach you students, if you can, about the power of saving money,” she said to a gymnasium half-full of fourth grade students, many of whom wore sunglasses given out by Honor Credit Union.

Once a student sets up an account and puts in at least one dollar, Honor Credit Union will provide $10 extra, Behrle said.

You get the opportunity to start thinking about money, how to save, what we do with money,” Dunn said to his students. “It’s kind of scary, because that’s a grown-up thing, and you’re in fourth grade, but guess what? The math you’re learning is the same math we do at the bank and the credit union.”

Behrle noted that not only do students benefit from making deposits, those volunteering to run the credit union benefit, too.

“I taught them yesterday how to balance the cash drawer, how to fill out a deposit slip,” Behrle said. “Those are all things they’re going to learn when they get older. And confidentiality is a huge piece of that.”

Students had to apply for the position. Branch manager Hendershott provided a simple answer as to why she did.

“I like helping the other students,” she said.