York Branch

Oliver’s creative streak wins scarborough prize

Press release published by Scarborough Building Society

York youngster, Oliver Grimbly, 4, has been awarded the winning prize for his entry in Scarborough Building Society’s colouring competition promoting the importance of savings.

The 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 entries were drawn as part of the Society’s recent campaign 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 provide training for volunteers to enable them to help support families in areas of budgeting and money management.

The York scheme will be working with Scarborough in the future to put together an opportunity for families in the local area.

Branch manager Sally Burgon said: ‘Oliver’s entry stood out from the others because it was fun and captured what many children wished their families were saving for – a new car!

‘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.

‘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.’

Gail Tams from York Home-Start was on hand to help with the difficult task of judging the winner.

She said: ‘The level of competition was high, but Oliver’s entry really stood out he had taken time and concentration to draw a lovely picture. It’s important for young families to have aspirations and take responsibility for saving. Being aware of the value of money is a good foundation for financial stability in the future.

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