An award-winning financial literacy program initially created by Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity) for local use has expanded across the country.
The “Each one, teach one” program, which began in 2008, is now available to 60 credit unions across Canada that are affiliated with the Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA). More than 100 employees from various credit unions have been certified to deliver the workshops associated with the program in their own communities, according to Vancity’s announcement released Friday.
The original program was recognized by the CCUA in 2011 when Vancity received the association’s national credit union award for community economic development.
“Financial literacy is one of the first steps on the road to economic strength and independence,” says Linda Morris, Vancity’s senior vice president of member community engagement, through a statement. “We created this program to provide members of our community with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to make informed financial decisions.”
The program is delivered by volunteers and covers topics that include basic banking, budgeting, taxation, developing a credit history, loans and fraud prevention. The expanded program is offering 35 workshops in cities across Canada during November, which is Financial Literacy Month, and early December with more workshops to be planned for 2017.
“Helping Canadians manage their money wisely, decrease their debt and increase their savings is especially timely and important now,” says Jane Rooney, Canada’s financial literacy leader, through a statement. (Rooney has been charged with implementing the federal government’s financial literacy strategy.) “I am encouraged by programs like these because of their impact in helping Canadians learn new money management skills that can last a lifetime.”
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