On Friday 18th October, MyBnk invited Saffron Building Society to a Money Works session at Colchester YMCA in Essex to mark the official launch of a new partnership.
Funding from Saffron Building Society has allowed MyBnk to permanently expand services into Essex, with the hire of programme trainer Vicky Cutbush.
Vicky, who delivered the two-day Money Works programme at Colchester YMCA last week, is also focusing on outreach and growing the MyBnk network in Essex. Speaking about working with young people in the region, Vicky said:
“There’s a real need for more financial education in Essex. I’ve worked with young people who are already in debt, already using credit cards and don’t understand how to use them, or can’t pay their rent, or don’t understand the cost of living. And part of the problem is that young people don’t always know where to turn to for support so the work we’re doing at MyBnk is crucial to help improve financial literacy in Essex.”
Saffron have committed £200,000 over 2 years to support MyBnk’s work, with the funding predominantly targeted at Essex care leavers and young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
Just 29% of care leavers in Essex are living independently compared with 35% nationally. MyBnk’s financial education programmes will not only teach essential money management skills but will also help participants in the county apply for grants up to £100 to fund educational materials or vocational tools.
Thanks to Saffron’s funding, MyBnk have already been able to deliver 100 of the 300 planned hours of financial education.
CEO of MyBnk, Leon Ward, said:
“We are pleased to see the progress we are making towards our year one target of delivering 300 hours of financial education to young adults in Essex, and delighted that Saffron CEO Colin Field and the team were able to attend a Money Works session to Colchester to meet some of our learners and colleagues, and actively engage in the work of our partnership.
At MyBnk, we believe that the language of money is a language for life. Our partnership with Saffron will help us empower even more young people in Essex with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed financial decisions, contributing to our mission of creating a financially fluent population. We are extremely grateful to Saffron and their commitment to supporting their local community and allowing us to make this work possible.”
To learn more about MyBnk’s work in Essex, or to request a fully-funded session, contact vicky.cutbush@mybnk.org.
