Vote for us in the Natwest Skills and Opportunities Fund
Our Families Getting on With Money project has been shortlisted for the Natwest Skills and Opportunities Fund and you can vote for us so that we can help more parents in east London take control of their money, to support their families and each other.
Our aim is to create a healthy and vibrant community and remove the label ‘deprived’ from Bromley by Bow. Over 34 years, we have supported thousands of people in Tower Hamlets to gain the confidence needed to progress in life and build a positive future for their families. Our focus is on supporting vulnerable young people, adults and families, equipping them with the tools they need to transform their lives for the better.
Our project aims to work with parents and parent liaison officers in schools to improve parents’ financial resilience and help them feel more confident about managing their family finances. We will achieve this by developing parents’ financial capability skills and by equipping liaison officers with the skills to support families and create a supportive network for parents.
Gaining this funding means that we can reach parents who may be struggling financially in an accessible, familiar environment. Alongside our financial capability programmes for individuals, this project will work in schools to support parents and liaison workers before they hit crisis. The programme will reach 180 parents and train up 40 parent liaison officers to support even more families around money management.
Halima’s story
Halima* attended a Getting on with Money workshop. “Before I didn’t have an idea about money but one day the trainer came into our group”. The workshop enabled Halima to assess her expenses. It helped her with everyday ways of spending money, such as shopping – now she only shops once a week and tries to save where she can; “Even if you can save one pound it DOES help”.
Her biggest saving was with energy costs. “I cut down on kettle usage and put the heating on a timer – I didn’t realise I could do that before, or even that the knob on the heater turned it off. Now I put foil behind the radiator and turn off the heating when I’m out of the home: I’m now saving £20 a week!”
She has since communicated the way she is budgeting to her children too: “I have a plan with my children – I promised one month to buy for my son and then the next time for my daughter. I talked to them and was open, so they knew what was happening and understood.”
Because this knowledge has made such a difference to her, Halima wants to tell others in a similar position about saving money: “I have a fridge sticker about money on my fridge – so when people come round I give advice to them. I have more confidence to talk to people – passing on what I’ve learnt.”
*Name changed.
You can vote for us here by selecting London and clicking on Bromley by Bow.
