Rhonda Spencer is the Youth Development Coordinator for the Cree Nation of Chisasibi, located in the Eeyou Istchee territory in northern Quebec. With just over 5,000 residents and the nearest town being eight to nine hours away, it’s a remote community.
Cree Nation of Chisasibi is one of the many organizations running the Money Matters for Indigenous Peoples program. Money Matters is a free introductory financial literacy program developed in 2011 by ABC Life Literacy Canada with the support of founding sponsor TD Bank Group (TD) through its corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment. Workshops are delivered by literacy groups and community organizations across the country, often with the help of TD employees who volunteer their time.
Spencer thought Money Matters would be a great fit for two of the programs that she runs. The first program is a work experience program that puts youth to work in local jobs for 26 weeks. In addition to the work placement, the program offers additional training in areas like first aid, construction safety, and computer training. Spencer thought financial literacy would be a great fit and is now introducing Money Matters to youth as they start the program.
“The goal is to inspire them to save and be responsible with their money, now that they’re getting into work and making an income,” Spencer says, “If we equip them with financial literacy now, it will help them plan for the future.”
The second program Spencer runs with Money Matters is called “Conference of Workshops – Prep for Success”. It targets high school students, youth not in school, and adult education students who are transitioning to post-secondary studies outside of the region.
“Most of our youth go to college or university down south – whether it be in Val d’Or, Ottawa, Montreal, or Toronto. This program offers workshops on a variety of topics that we feel will help them build their life skills and ease the transition of moving away.”
Spencer says the topics range from cooking to time management to budgeting, and explained that the budgeting workbooks from the Money Matters program were an ideal fit.
“Financial literacy is often a brand-new concept to the high school students. We want them to know that it’s never too early to start planning. Oftentimes, at such a young age we won’t plan for the future because it seems so far away, but we want them to start thinking about their plans now – whether they want to buy a house, travel, etc. If they start planning now, it will give them a better future.”
Spencer explains that the financial literacy courses tend to be the most popular topics in the entire Conference of Workshops program.
“They enjoy learning about financial literacy. We’ve reached a lot of people with the program and planted the seed about money management.”
To learn more about Money Matters or to sign up to host a free workshop, visit abcmoneymatters.ca.
