On February 10, Donald Stewart, Chair of Canada’s Task Force on Financial Literacy and CEO of Sun Life Financial, presented Canada’s first ever national strategy on financial literacy at the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto. CCFL staff attended the event and learned more about how the not-for-profit sector can play an important role in helping low-income Canadians to build their knowledge, skills and confidence in financial matters.

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SEDI Awards winners: (left to right)
Benjamin Kwofie, Brian Smith, John MacDonald
 

SEDI Awards: A celebration of resilience and a tribute to Peter Nares

On November 3, 2010, at the Arcadian Court in Toronto, the 5^th SEDI Awards were hosted by CBC’s Suhana Meharchand, CTV’s Pat Foran, Dragons’ Den Arlene Dickinson with keynote speaker Ed Clark, President and CEO of TD Bank Group. The fundraiser and gala dinner recognizes people who have overcome poverty with the help of programs developed by SEDI and/or its community partners in the areas of financial literacy, saving and asset building, and entrepreneurship. The event was a great success and the true stars of the evening were the three award winners. Click here to read their remarkable stories.

In addition, a heartwarming tribute was paid to SEDI founder, Peter Nares, for the far-reaching impact his work in socio-economic development has had in Canada and internationally.

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Peter Nares, SEDI Founder

The date has been set! The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will co-host “Partnering to turn financial literacy into action” on May 26-27, 2011, in Toronto. The one-and-half day global conference seeks to advance the dialogue on financial education in the Canadian and international arenas. Please note that the conference is by invitation only. Presentation materials from the various conference speakers will be available on the FCAC’s website after the conference.

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The CCFL depends on the expertise and dedication of the facilitators it trains across the country. People like Bill Liggens of the Ontario March of Dimes. Since attending a CCFL facilitator training in November 2010 at the Thunder Bay Counselling Centre, Bill has conducted several financial literacy workshops for Anishinabe men and people with disabilities. Recently, he partnered with one of his fellow trainees from Lutheran Community Care to deliver the CCFL’s financial literacy curriculum to people with developmental disabilities.

“I am not new to financial literacy, having worked in a bank for many years, but I like the accessibility and interactivity of the CCFL's curriculum,” says Bill, who is especially tuned into the needs and challenges of his clients as he is vision-impaired.

The CCFL continues to rely on the commitment and dedication of facilitators like Bill and all our community partners who work tirelessly to bring financial literacy to at-risk and low-income persons across Canada. Thank you to Bill for his hard work and dedication!

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In December, the CCFL finished its 10^th facilitator training session for the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) project The City. Our trainer Shari Grayson traveled to the far north to visit the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA). The QIA has a youth department that consults with local young people to develop and deliver programs for youth. The newly trained coordinators plan to begin delivering The City to youth in Iqaluit soon.

For more information on The City, click here.

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The CCFL continues to seek community organizations across Canada interested in receiving training from the CCFL to build their capacity to deliver financial literacy workshops to their clients. We are particularly interested in working with community organizations in Eastern Canada, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and with Aboriginal groups countrywide. To bring the CCFL to your community, please fill out the expression of interest available here and a CCFL staff member will follow up with you shortly.

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