TORONTO, ONTARIO (March 17, 2014) – Three Enactus student teams from Ryerson University, University of Ottawa and University of Windsor have been named 2014 Capital One Financial Education Challenge Regional Champions by this country’s largest student leadership development organization, Enactus Canada, and proud program supporter, Capital One Canada.
The Capital One Financial Education Challenge is a national competition empowering post-secondary students to develop and deliver projects that teach relevant financial skills. In the last two years, this challenge has engaged 1,316 students across the country, resulting in the delivery of 236 financial education outreach projects and directly impacting 17,206 community participants.
Teams at Ryerson University, University of Ottawa and University of Windsor have enabled progress through the following community empowerment projects:
Enactus Ryerson empowered 10 women to start or expand their businesses through their financial education project called Project Pathway, which helped participates save almost $17,000 and generate almost $37,000 in profits this year.
The Enactus team at the University of Ottawa helped 50 youth enhance their financial literacy and personal confidence through Project Fly, a financial education program which the team plans to expand into Northern Canadian communities through a recent partnership with the Government of Nunavut.
CityThrive, a 12 week financial education and entrepreneurship program run by the Enactus team at the University of Windsor, was offered to 24 social assistance recipients this year, successfully transitioning five participants off social assistance and saving the City of Windsor over $58,000.
“We’re sponsoring this event because we see education as the primary driver to empowering Canadians to make wise financial choices,” said Pepe Porrata, Chief Operating Officer, Capital One Canada. “It’s truly been inspiring to see how these students are positively impacting the communities in which they live by sharing their financial know-how.”
Student teams demonstrated the impact of their financial education-focused projects to panels of industry professionals on March 14 in Toronto as part of the Enactus Canada Regional Exposition – Central Canada. The winning Enactus teams stood out to the judges because of their dedication to empowering people in need within their community.
“Through these projects, our student teams are transforming lives and building a more sustainable country,” said Nicole Almond, Enactus Canada president. “We are incredibly proud of our student leaders and their work to empower people across Canada through financial literacy education.”
These teams will now move on to the national level of competition taking place April 28-30 at the 2014 Enactus Canada National Exposition in Calgary, Alberta.
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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 2,400 student leaders create and implement 350 community empowerment projects and business ventures every year in communities coast to coast. As a global network of 36 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, and now includes the Aspire suite of rewards cards which are regularly cited by leading rewards experts for the great value they offer consumers. 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.
Media Inquiries:
Jody Lundrigan
Director of Communications, Enactus Canada
E: jody@enactus.ca
P:416.304.1566 ext.222
M: 416.346.0131