Craigavon YouthBank takes to the airwaves for Money Week

Young people from Craigavon YouthBank took to the airwaves on Thursday 26 January to help promote Money Week.

A seven-day programme of events to help young people understand and make better decisions about finance, Money Week runs from February 25 to March 2 in various venues around the Craigavon area.

Craigavon YouthBank will be involved in a number of events including workshops, a Dragon’s Den event, an Open-Mic Night and an essay competition.

Craigavon YouthBank decided to run some personal finance workshops to tackle their own levels of knowledge and skills, making themselves more responsive to their own money issues.

This is accompanied by three other YouthBank initiatives for young people living in the Craigavon council area.

Firstly, four small grants of up to £250 will be available for youth groups who wish to organise a project that increases financial capability.

Applicants will test their nerve and pitch their ideas to a Dragon’s Den style panel of YouthBank members.

It is hoped that proposals will be varied so a wide range of projects receive funding.

For aspiring singer-songwriters and rappers, there is an open mic event, inviting young people to perform an original piece of music incorporating the lyric ‘What’s up with your loot?’

Both events will be hosted at the Brownlow Youth Resource Centre with the Dragon’s Den taking place on Wednesday 29 February and the open-mic event happening on Friday 2 March.

Finally, there is an essay competition for local secondary schools on the theme of What is the silliest thing I have done with my money and what I learnt from this?

Terry McCollum, Craigavon YouthBank Co-ordinator, said: “This is a fun and exciting way for local groups to approach YouthBank for funds.

“We think it is essential that young people are educated about finance and the decision making process.

“This is a great way to get more young people empowered to help their communities.”

These initiatives are part of Ulster Bank MoneySense, an educational programme developed to help people make informed decisions about their money and understand how financial products and services work.

Patricia McQuaid, Manager of the Ulster Bank Branch in Portadown said: “We’ve always supported the great work that YouthBank does.

“We know YouthBank does an important job in engaging young people – it’s all about engaging young people to make their own decisions, helping other Young people to make a difference in their local communities.”