Newby Branch

Tom’s Creative Streak Win Scarborough Prize

Press release published on 7 December 2007 by Scarborough Building Society

Scarborough youngster Tom Evans, 7, was today awarded the winning prize for his entry in Scarborough Building Society’s colouring competition promoting the importance of savings.

Tom EvansThe competition, entitled ‘What’s your family saving for?’ asked children from across the local area to draw what their family is saving for, and entries ranged from holidays in the sun to a rainy day – or, in one case, a dinosaur!

The winning entry was drawn at the Newby branch as part of the Society’s ongoing drive to remind families of the need to save for the future, helping them along the way with the Society’s Family Saver account, which also donates £1 to Home-Start, the UK’s leading family support charity, for every account opened.

This donation is being used by Home-Start to help fund a new scheme in Ryedale. Home-Start Ryedale is due to be formally announced in the next few months, and Scarborough has been one of the key donators, helping the scheme to get charitable status.

Newby branch manager Andrew Carter said: ‘This entry stood out from the others because it is fun and captured what many children wished their families were saving for!

‘This competition was part of our ongoing drive to encourage children to save. With today’s growing debt culture, it’s vital that they develop the habit of squirreling away any spare cash from an early age.

‘To encourage this further, we have also developed a financial education programme so support schools, and parents, in giving their kids a head start.

He continued: ‘But it’s not just about saving cash. We are proud that our Family Saver account is associated with an organisation which has such an important role to play in our local community. Home-Start represents an important source of support for many families.’

Kim Storey from Home-Start was on hand to help with the difficult task of judging the winner.

She said: ‘The level of competition was high, but Tom’s entry really stood out. However, this competition wasn’t just for fun, there was a serious message for everyone.

‘Financial security can be a problem for the families that we support, it’s so important to develop a savings habit, in order to cope better with life’s ups and downs.’

A selection of the entries will be displayed on an online wall of fame on Scarborough’s website, at www.scarboroughbs.co.uk. For more information about Scarborough’s schools financial education programme, please visit www.scarboroughbs.co.uk/together.