Press Release

CAB Calloway Students Use Puppet To Learn About Money

The students of Ms. Kathleen Fanny’s film class at CAB Calloway School of the Arts teamed with Gilpin Mortgage, and an unlikely “spokesperson”… a money-mouthed puppet, to help teach teens about managing money. The results were a series of videos that were written, directed and produced by the students, giving tips about mortgages and financial management.

Gilpin sponsored a video competition to help young adults realize the importance of understanding personal finances. Since most high school students find this a rather boring subject, Gilpin wanted to make it both fun and profitable. The students were given the Money Puppet with the assignment to use it in a :60 video about money or mortgages. The videos were judged by the Gilpin staff, and winners received cash prizes with a matching donation going to the school. The idea came from Ann G. Riley, President of Gilpin, “We've got to do a better job of teaching people about finances at a much earlier age. Unfortunately, every day we see young, first-time home buyers who we can’t approve for a mortgage or who have to pay a higher interest rate because their finances are in bad shape.” Riley explained, “Given how kids have embraced social networking and making their own films for YouTube, MySpace, etc., we thought that using the Smart Money Puppet for a film project would help to make finances fun and interesting. The creativity and quality of the videos submitted by the students was amazing!”

Gilpin has posted the videos on the website www.SmartMoneyPuppet.com and also on www.Gilpin.com. The mortgage company will be adding to the video collection by inviting other schools to participate in the project. If your school is interested in participating, contact Ann Riley at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Gilpin has been financing homes in DE, PA and MD since 1941. Locally owned and operated, Gilpin was the first Delaware mortgage banker to be approved to originate FHA and VA loans and is also one of the top lenders of Delaware State Housing Authority financing for first-time homebuyers. To learn more about Gilpin, visit gilpin.com.