Ciara and Russell Wilson are using their platform to give back. According to a recent report, the celebrity couple surprised Seattle students with their very own savings account.

Per The Seattle Times, the Wilsons paid a virtual visit to 900 students at Denny International Middle School in Seattle. During a presentation entitled “Building Wealth – A Blueprint to Financial Freedom Inspired by Hip Hop,” students at the middle school spent the day following the rapper Jay-Z’s rags-to-riches success story.

Halfway through the presentation, Ciara and Wilson dropped in to talk financial literacy with the students and donated about $35,000, resulting in each student getting a savings account with $40 of seed money.

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During the presentation, the couple served as inspiration for the students, dropping plenty of fun and important gems along the way. Wilson shared with the students, “Financial literacy and building wealth is so important. Ciara and I really wanted to talk to you all because we didn’t come from much and we had big visions, we had big goals, big dreams.” 

Ciara herself also chimed in, emphasizing that the students invest in themselves and their communities. She explained, “All these things can pay back tremendously if you invest in them in the right way…Investing is very powerful and it will also allow you to create an opportunity to build legacy for your family.”

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In addition to simply investing, Wilson also encouraged the students to keep their eye on the ever-changing world of technology. He shared in the visit, “It’s about finding the next up-and-coming thing. I wish I had invested in Facebook when I was young.”

The surprise visit is a part of a Financial Literacy Month partnership with the NFL Players Association, Ciara and Wilson’s Why Not You Foundation, and Goalsetter, a New York-based financial technology company. While the donation is an incredibly generous gift to the young students, there is one specific rule around the savings accounts: the students cannot touch the accounts until they are 18 years old. 

Tanya Van Court, CEO of Goalsetter, explained why the company decided to start saving accounts for these young students instead of immediate gifts. “Gift cards teach them about consumerism. To spend on things you don’t really need,” she said. “Giving cash or gift cards away doesn’t incentivize saving or investing for kids.”

The Goalsetter program plans to provide up to five years of literacy tools for families through its app. The students will eventually receive a debit card designed for teens and tweens attached to their accounts and the app, allowing friends and family members to contribute to their accounts.

For more on Ciara and Wilson’s visit and Goalsetter, you can read The Seattle Times report here.

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