Even if they have all the drive and motivation in the world, many young people still face barriers to obtaining a post-secondary education – namely, money.
Career Trek and their partners are helping kids and their parents overcome this obstacle, in part by investing in futures early on.
Every year, the Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation – which is one of Canada’s largest group education savings plan provider – provides Career Trek with a series of $1,000 Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs). We then award these RESPs in the form of scholarships to selected participants.
Not only do RESPs make good financial sense since they have time to grow, are tax sheltered, and elicit a government contribution, but they give kids a strong vote of confidence. They provide a jumping off point for parents to invest as well.
The Manitoba government’s Bright Futures Fund is also making significant scholarship contributions. Participants of Career Trek’s Children Rising project receive a $500 scholarship upon completion of each year of programming. The young mothers in The ‘M’ Project receive a $500 scholarship upon graduation.
The Bright Futures Fund supports programs aimed at improving high school graduation rates and increasing access to post-secondary education for disadvantaged and low-income students.