Swansea youngsters’ money management skills recognised at Wales final of prestigious competition

Posted on by karen.smith

Sarah Porretta, Head of the Money for Life Programme at Lloyds Banking Group, presents the People’s Prize to Rampart Rebels members Luke Murrells, Shauna Fury, Natasha Bevan, Tara Lewis, Jonathan Majors and Louise Hooper (shark costume).

A team of young people from Swansea is celebrating success after being awarded the People’s Prize at the Wales final of Lloyds TSB Money for Life Challenge, a UK-wide competition designed to inspire better money management skills within communities.

The Rampart Rebels team of trainees, aged between 16 and 19, impressed the voting audience at yesterday’s ceremony in Cardiff with their inspirational project to raise public awareness about loan sharks operating in Swansea.

Their project, which included a member dressed in a shark costume, demonstrated the team’s impressive ability to not only improve their own money management skills, but to use these to have a positive impact on their local community.

Two representatives from the team will enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to London to attend the Money for Life Challenge UK Grand Final on May 23. There they will compete for the People’s Prize, voted for by the audience, where they could win a Lloyds Banking Group mentor for a year, £1,500 for a charity of their choice, and £100 in shopping vouchers for the team.

Tara Lewis, from Rampart Rebels, said: “We weren’t expecting the award and it feels so good to be appreciated It has been an amazing project and a great opportunity to help the community.”

The team’s sponsor, Ian Reynolds, a tutor at the Employment Training Centre, Swansea, said: “I am delighted that the team’s hard work has come to fruition. It has been a four month journey and this award makes it all worthwhile.

“The project will continue and we will hold a loan shark awareness week in October.”

Sarah Porretta, Head of the Money for Life Programme at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We’re delighted to announce Rampart Rebels as the winners of the Money for Life Challenge Wales People’s Prize. The audience were incredibly impressed by the team’s empathy for local people they knew of who had been impacted by loan sharks and their determination to educate their community about where to borrow money safely.

“The Money for Life Challenge is now in its second year and it’s inspiring to see so many young people being empowered to learn new ways to manage their money well and support others by passing on these skills.

“We look forward to welcoming Rampart Rebels to the Grand Final on May 23 and wish them all the best of luck.”

The panel of judges included Simon Farrington, Wales on Sunday editor and business development editor for Media Wales, Essex Havard, Niace Dysgu Cymru’s campaigns and fundraising co-ordinator, Mike Lewis, Lloyds Banking Group’s business connector, Stephanie Lloyd, NUS Wales president and Garin Wilcock from St David’s College Cardiff.

Money for Life Challenge is part of the Money for Life programme, a unique partnership between Lloyds Banking Group and further education sector partners in the four nations of the UK, including ColegauCymru / CollegesWales and the National Training Federation for Wales. The competition aims to find the most successful and innovative ways to improve the money management skills of learners, their friends, families and communities. Team members are between 16 and 24 years old and in further education, work based learning or adult community learning.

For more information on the Money for Life Challenge, please go to moneyforlifechallenge.org.uk, or join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/moneyforlifeuk and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/moneyforlifeuk

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