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Happening ... in the Local Church
 St.
Maria Goretti, Westfield, parishioner Tony Townsley with the book that
strives to teach children how to use money wisely. (Photo by Caroline B.
Mooney) |
By Caroline B.
Mooney
The
Catholic Moment
INDIANAPOLIS — A new book titled Three Cups strives to teach children how to use money wisely through charity, savings and spending.
It is the brainchild of Tony Townsley, a certified public accountant and parishioner of St. Maria Goretti Church, Westfield. Two thousand copies have been sold in the first two months.
“My journey into the world of self-publishing began about four years ago,” Townsley said. “I was on my way to work one morning when I heard a guest on Catholic radio talking about an invention that had brought him financial success and gave him the ability to give back to the community in a very meaningful way. I was inspired by his talk and began to think of something I could do. After some serious reflection, I thought the allowance system my wife, Susan, and I have used for our children might be a good place to start. We had heard a lot of compliments about it over the years from friends.”
The couple began giving their children Jake, now 15, and Emma, now 12, an allowance when they were born. The kids are given $1 per every year of age per week which is divided into three cups: 70 percent into a savings cup, 20 percent into a spending cup and 10 percent into a charity cup.
“I grew up in a family that encouraged savings,” Townsley said. “My parents instilled (in) me the importance of saving money and being responsible with your money. Susan and I think it is really important not only to teach our children about savings, but about how to spend money and, from an early age, teach them the importance of giving back.
“I approached a good friend, Scott Willy, who owns a marketing company in Indianapolis, with my idea to produce a book, video or game with my idea,” he said. “Scott liked the idea and suggested he talk with his wife, April, about a children’s book.”
The Townsleys and the Willys, who are parishioners of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Carmel, have been friends since meeting at a Tobit marriage retreat weekend nearly 23 years ago.
Townsley wrote an outline for four books. If Three Cups does well, he plans to have a book that expands on each cup in more detail. He and Willy hired Mark St. Germain, a playwright and author of the movie “Duma,” to write the books. Willy designed the book and April hand-painted the illustrations.
The book follows a young boy as he grows up with the three cups concept, and a parents’ guide explains how to start the method.
“Of all the projects I’ve ever worked on, this is in my top five,” Scott Willy said. “It is by far the most gratifying project I’ve been involved in on every level. I think it’s interesting how God put my wife and me together with Tony. There is really a universal appeal to the book, and I worked hard to find a way to make it affordable. … Everything about the process from start to finish really came together; it’s really been blessed. I think it was meant to be and hopefully, it will be shared by a large, large number of people. This story really has the power to change lives.”
“I always knew Tony did a lot of great stuff with his kids and family charity-wise, but I never knew he had a regimented technique,” April Willy said. “I wish I had known about it when my kids were younger. I thought the concept was very interesting and I was very eager to do it. I enjoyed working with my husband and seeing his conceptual design and his thought process. I used my husband’s family and my nephew as models, as well as my teenage son. We have really had a fantastic response already. It’s such a great concept — it is really a tool.”
“Tony had this idea and has been living it out,” said Connie Anderson, director of religious education at St. Maria Goretti Church. Townsley has taught fifth-grade religious education for five years and is the current president of the religious education council.
“While he was working on the book, Deacon Steve Miller (of St. Maria Goretti Church) and I encouraged Tony on this wonderful project and prayed for him to persevere,” she said. “Tony is always adding to lessons and talking to the kids about what we are called to do and how we can live this out.”
An anonymous donor bought copies of Three Cups for all kindergarten, first- and second-graders at St. Maria Goretti School. Anderson is pursuing donations to give all kindergarten, first- and second-grade religious education students the books as well.
“If children use the cups concept from an early age, they are given a foundation that will always stay with them,” she said. “I am so proud of Tony and I really think he is touching generations to come with Three Cups.”
“Tony was a member of our first finance council when St. Maria Goretti was a mission parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church,” Deacon Miller said. “I think his involvement in the Church was part of what led him to realize that Three Cups would be good to teach to children. He has been very devoted to this idea, and stewardship is hard to teach at a young age. … Acknowledging that everything we have comes from God is a hard concept for adults. You have to think harder with children to come up with ideas that they can digest and understand. I think the book would be a nice supplement to a stewardship campaign.”
“The charity cup is probably our favorite cup,” Townsley said. “The kids give one-half of their charity money each week to St. Maria Goretti and the other half accumulates. Over the years, they have donated to food pantries, the Humane Society, American Red Cross and Riley Hospital. We have also taught them to volunteer their time to help other groups.”
When Jake was about 5, he wanted to give candy to the food pantry at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Carmel. His parents didn’t think it sounded like a great idea, but Jake said he thought families that used the food pantry probably didn’t have money to buy candy for their kids.
Susan Townsley called the pantry to make sure someone would be there when Jake took in the candy. Once there, a gentleman at the food pantry told Jake, “You can’t see God, but God is really smiling down on you now and he really appreciates what you are doing and how you are thinking about helping other people.”
“Of course, Jake had a big smile on his face and felt really great about that experience,” Townsley said. “What we originally thought might not turn out be a good idea turned out to be a great idea. It was really a wonderful experience for him.”
The Townsley children have also used their money to shop for the food pantry. They have learned how to buy the most food at the lowest prices, paying by themselves at the cash register.
“It means more to them than if I were to give them money to go out and buy food,” Townsley said. “They have a real ownership stake in how they are actively involved in giving back to that charity. … It’s about giving back your time. We also go a shelter in town and they get a chance firsthand to see what it’s all about.
The family makes regular trips to the bank with allowance money.
“When Emma was about 4-years-old, she didn’t understand why we had to take the money out of the savings cup and take it the bank.” Townsley said. “I asked what she thought the bank did with her money, and she said, ‘Well, they just give it to poor people.’ I knew that was a really good opportunity to talk about how the bank holds your money and pays you interest. It was like a light bulb went off and she thought it was neat.
“I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and said they got the book and are going to implement it,” Townsley said. “I don’t know how many books we are going to sell – I don’t really care. What I care about it getting the message out there so we can touch those hearts and lives. I know, because I’ve lived it all my life, with my children. We can make a huge difference in those families. If you are actively involved in your community with your kids, if you are actively teaching your kids about how to go to the bank and save regularly, how to go and spend your money responsibly, you will impact their lives in a very positive way.
“I
had an email from a guy I work with he said he noticed in his home that
there were three cups with money in them and the book was sitting by them,”
he said. “His wife had read the book and started the program with their
granddaughter.”
Another email came from a woman in Nebraska who said she cried when she read the book — and then she gave it to her granddaughter with three cups as a gift.
“It’s very touching for me to get those emails because I know we are impacting lives in a positive way,” Townsley said.
“The thing that I am most proud about is that often people get ideas that they don’t act upon,” he said, “but this is an idea that I got from the Holy Spirit and I acted on it. It took a long time to get it done the way I wanted it done, but we did it and I think people will be drawn to it.”
Townsley paid for 5,000 hardcover books to be printed and kept the price at $10. Since the first printing just two months ago, 2,000 copies have been sold across the country. The book is available on a Web site, www.3cupsbook.com, and at the downtown Indianapolis Borders store, Holy Family Books and Gifts in Carmel, and Mudsock Books & Curiosity Shoppe in Fishers.