Saint Mary’s University Wins National Championship for Helping Youth Break the Cycle of Poverty

The 2013 Capital One Financial Education Challenge Helped 8,000 Canadians Improve their Financial Literacy Skills.

TORONTO, ON (Thursday, May 9, 2013): Saint Mary’s University from Halifax, NS has been named the 2013 Capital One® Financial Education Challenge National Champion by a team of judges, with the support of national charitable organization Enactus Canada. The student team from Saint Mary’s University won by empowering at-risk youth to develop long-term financial goals and gave them the necessary confidence and a basic understanding of money so they can realize their objectives of saving for post-secondary education, reducing their debt and achieving independent living.

Saint Mary’s University’s OPtions: Overcoming Poverty project worked with at-risk youth over a five-month period to teach participants how to save money, pay down their debt and even helped one young woman accumulate enough savings to move from the shelter system into her own apartment. Since the program’s inception, they have helped over 130 marginalized youth break the cycle of poverty through realistic goal setting.

“Judging the event, I saw first-hand the incredible passion and positive impact these students are having on their communities, right across the country,” said Rob Livingston, President, Capital One Canada. “At Capital One, we believe education is the key to empowering Canadians to make smart financial decisions, and by working with Enactus on this challenge, we are able to reach thousands of people with important information that will help them manage their money.”

“Financial literacy is vital for strengthening communities across the country and Enactus Saint Mary’s University is making these skills available to marginalized youth,” said Nicole Almond, Enactus Canada president. “The results of their engaging and effective project are undeniable and have positively impacted youth in the Halifax area through financial literacy skill development.”

The Capital One Financial Education Challenge was launched in 2011 to encourage Enactus teams to develop projects that will educate Canadians how to make informed and positive financial decisions that will ultimately improve their quality of life. The national competition took place at the 2013 Enactus Canada National Exposition on May 7 in Toronto.

More than 1,200 delegates including the country’s brightest university and college students, academic professionals and top Canadian CEOs took part in this annual gathering that effectively enables progress by supporting entrepreneurial action.

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ABOUT ENACTUS CANADA: Enactus Canada is a community of student, academic and business leaders enabling progress through entrepreneurial action. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, more than 2,300 student leaders create and implement over 350 community empowerment projects and business ventures every year in communities coast to coast. As a global network of 39 countries, Enactus uses the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. For more information, visit enactus.ca.

ABOUT CAPITAL ONE: With offices in Toronto and Montreal, Capital One has offered Canadian consumers a range of competitive MasterCard credit cards since 1996, when the company first introduced the Platinum MasterCard in Canada. Capital One Canada is a division of Capital One Bank, a subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corporation of McLean, Virginia (NYSE: COF). Capital One is committed to investing in youth in our communities through program investment and the skills and dedication of our talented associates.