(MISSISSAUGA) 12 March 2018 – Students from the University of Windsor launched a social enterprise that provides victims of sex and labour trafficking in Canada with sustainable employment developing affordable sanitary menstrual health products for women living in poverty in Nicaragua.
Students at the University of Toronto, St. George campus are also helping increase marginalized women’s access to financial literacy education through their project Catapult, which provides customized budgeting, investment and personal finance workshops.
And since 2012, students from Lambton College have offered local high school and college students a financial literacy program called Strength In Numbers, which is now available online, and will be available to all students applying for OSAP.
These three Enactus teams have been named 2018 Capital One Financial Education Challenge Regional Champions by Canada’s largest experiential learning platform, Enactus Canada, and program supporter Capital One Canada.
“Canada has a financial literacy issue, with 57% unable to pass a basic financial literacy test,” said Nicole Almond, President of Enactus Canada. “Through this challenge, Enactus students are addressing this directly, providing individuals with the knowledge and confidence to make responsible financial decisions. That’s life-changing.”
Eight female survivors have been employed through Enactus Windsor’s Liberty Project this year alone.
And Enactus U of T’s project Catapult has directly equipped 140 marginalized women with the basics of budgeting, increased confidence to use banks, and the importance of financial literacy through partnerships with six community organizations.
Three-hundred and twenty unique participants have received training through Enactus Lambton’s Strength in Numbers initiative in the past year.
“Congratulations to the winners! By sharing their financial knowledge and skills with people in need, Enactus students open many opportunities for Canadians.” said Shane Holdaway, President of Capital One Canada. “At Capital One, we are focused on helping Canadians succeed with their finances. We use powerful analytics and user-centric technology to build products, services, and tools to help Canadians be smarter with their money and fuel their future with possibilities.”
The Capital One Financial Education Challenge is a national competition empowering post-secondary students to develop and deliver projects that teach relevant financial skills. Since 2011, this challenge has engaged 7,840 students across the country, resulting in 744 financial education outreach projects, and directly impacting the financial futures of 84,945 people.
Student teams demonstrated the impact of their financial education projects to panels of business executives on March 9 in Mississauga as part of the Enactus Canada Regional Exposition – Central Canada.
Enactus University of Windsor, Enactus University of Toronto, St. George, and Enactus Lambton College will now move on to the national level of competition taking place May 14-16 at the 2018 Enactus Canada National Exposition in Toronto.
-30-
ABOUT ENACTUS CANADA: Enactus Canada, a national charity and the country’s largest post-secondary experiential learning platform, is shaping entrepreneurial leaders who are passionate about advancing the economic, social and environmental health of Canada. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, more than 3,300 post-secondary students led 275 community empowerment projects and business ventures last year in communities coast to coast, positively impacting over 26,000 lives.
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, Kitchener-Waterloo and Montreal, Capital One Canada has been offering Canadian consumers a range of competitive Mastercard credit cards since 1996. We challenge ourselves to deliver innovative products and services that help Canadians make informed decisions about their money so they can maximize their financial potential. Capital One Canada is a division of Capital One Bank, a subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corporation of McLean, Virginia (NYSE: COF). To learn more visit: www.capitalone.ca/enactus and follow us on Twitter @CapitalOneCA
Media Inquiries:
Jennifer Falzon
Director, Marketing & Strategic Growth, Enactus Canada
jen@enactus.ca | 416.304.1566 x222