We’re Taking on the 2018 Isle of Wight Challenge to Raise Money for MyBnk

​​​Our founders, James Thompson and Derek Pegg have just signed up to take on the 2018 Isle of Wight Challenge – hoping to walk the full 66 mile (106 km) course in one go. The event takes place in early May so they need to get some serious mileage in before then to make sure they’re as ready as can be for their very, very, long walk.

They’re doing this to raise money for MyBnk. MyBnk is a small charity who help promote financial education and awareness to kids and young people in schools and local communities across the UK. If you would like to support their challenge, you can find out more and sponsor them via Virgin Money Giving.

About MyBnk

MyBnk is a charity that delivers financial and enterprise education programmes directly to 11-25 year olds in schools and youth organisations. MyBnk have helped 160,000 young people learn how to manage their money and make enterprising choices through fun and interactive sessions. Young people are at the heart of everything MyBnkwe do and help them design programmes through their Youth Advisory Panel. MyBnk also provides enterprise experiences using real money and ethical products and runs the youth homeless prevention programme, The Money House. MyBnk projects are proven and evaluated by The Money Advice Service.

UK personal debt is over £1.5 trillion and 90% of the UK population have never received any form of money management lessons. Nearly half of 16-25 year olds name debt as their biggest fear. In an ever tightening job market, this generation will have to make smarter financial decisions and create their own opportunities. Recent studies show teachers and parents lack the confidence and expertise to effectively teach young people how to manage their money.

MyBnk currently operate in schools and youth organisations in London and its surrounding areas, the South Coast and South West and North of England.  From ARK Academies to the Prince’s Trust, MyBnk have forged partnerships with over 750 organisations including Leaving Care Units, Pupil Referral Units and Young Offenders Institutions to ensure we reach out to the most disadvantaged and financially vulnerable young people. MyBnk experts carefully map workshops into each school’s curriculum, and embed financial capability into youth organisations’ existing support programmes for young people. MyBnk also has extensive experience designing projects and training programmes for other organisations.

MyBnk are helping to create a generation of informed financial consumers who engage with the financial system so it works for them, not against them.

MyBnk programmes increase financial awareness from an early age, setting young people on a positive trajectory and helping them understand how the decisions they make around money will affect their futures. MyBnk give young people a ‘reality check’ of the cost of independent living and the consequences of unsustainable debt. But we also demonstrate the rewards effective money management brings – this affects behavioural change and encouraging them to develop a responsible and informed attitude towards money to stay in control of their finances.

MyBnk also provides the opportunity to access small interest-free loans to turn young people’s business ideas into reality. This gives an exciting, tangible experience of learning by doing. Young people develop enterprise skills such as the ability to assess risk and learn from failure, skills which will enable them to face an increasingly competitive job market. They are able to implement their own ideas and increase their self-belief and confidence in seeing them come to fruition. The real life nature of MyBnk’s enterprise programmes is key – young people have to convince others of the validity of their ideas and are given loans (not grants) to make them a reality.

Find out more and sponsor this challenge

You can find out more about how we support charities our upcoming events. If you’d like to find out more or sponsor this challenge, you can do so via Virgin Money Giving.