Over the last two years we travelled around the NWT to talk to communities about financial literacy and I have learned so much!
One thing I have been most excited to hear about is the Canada Learning Bond. As a recent university graduate who left school very much in debt, I know how much this free money could help our northern students.
This is a federal government program to help lower-income families save for their children’s education. If you receive the National Child Benefit Supplement, and your child was born after December 31st, 2003, your child may be eligible for up to $2000 in free money for their post-secondary education!
Even if you no longer receive the National Child Benefit Supplement, your child may be eligible for the years that you did. We want to help improve the rate of eligible children receiving this money to much higher than the current uptake of only 8%.
We’re hosting an Open House on Monday, May 12, from 3-7 pm at Northern United Place in Yellowknife. If you think your child might be eligible, if you work with families who could use this information, or have any questions, please stop in. We will have food available, as well as a children’s play area. Two banks (CIBC and BMO) and Service Canada will be there to help explain Registered Retirement Savings Plans and what you need to do to get your child a Social Insurance Number (SIN).
Families in Yellowknife, Ndilo, Dettah and Behchoko were mailed invitations from the federal government if their children are eligible. Please help us get this very important information to as many NWT families as possible.
We know that the costs of post-secondary education keep rising, and that every little bit of money will help our children go on to further education. Even having just $2000 in an RESP for post-secondary education can encourage students to graduate from high school and go on to post-secondary education or training.
If you live outside of Yellowknife and have questions, please contact me at katie@nwtliteracy.ca. If you would like to host a Canada Learning Bond information event in your community, let us know.
-- Katie Randall
