Smartsaver Community

The Leeds Grenville Poverty Reduction Alliance and partners have been working to promote the Canada Learning Bond for families in Leeds and Grenville to help reduce economic barriers to higher education.

As part of our promotion, local organizations hosted a Financial Empowerment Day at the Employment and Education Centre (www.eecentre.com ) in Brockville. It included representatives from Service Canada who provided social insurance numbers and volunteers who staffed a bank of computers to help families sign into the Leeds Grenville Start My RESP url.  Additional partners included Community Income Tax (www.volunteercentre.ca), Credit Counselling and Employment Services.

We will continue to promote the Canada Learning Bond at community events and festivals in the summer. The Brockville Police host weekly free movies (brockvillepolice.com/news/) in a downtown park during the summer months and along with movies and popcorn, families will also be provided with information on the Canada Learning Bond.

We know there is a correlation between education saving and education outcomes and we want all the children in Leeds and Grenville to have the opportunity to be the best that they can be. Our goal is to ensure that the over 8000 eligible children in Leeds and Grenville receive the Canada Learning Bond and build a bright future through higher education.

Loretta Corbeil
Chair, Leeds Grenville Poverty Reduction Alliance