Financial Basics Foundation recently hosted a webinar for volunteers from The Pyjama Foundation, with a focus on upskilling mentors in the domain of financial literacy and the best approaches to utilizing our resources.
The Pyjama Foundation works with children in foster care, providing them with opportunities to change the course of their lives through learning, life skills and confidence building.
The volunteers who attended the webinar, known as Pyjama Angels, are part of the Life Skills program. This initiative targets young people aged 12-24 years old, a critical age during which at-risk youth often become even more isolated and detached from services and their community.
At Financial Basics Foundation, we are acutely aware of the various factors that can influence a young person’s capacity to acquire the necessary financial skills. Vulnerable children, particularly those in foster care, experience significantly poorer educational outcomes when compared to their peers.
For the Pyjama Foundation, the objective of such training is to enhance the volunteers’ skills, equipping them with a toolkit that they can share with the young people they mentor. Their role involves empowering these young people by spending time with them and giving them the knowledge to know that they have choices and can assume control over the different aspects of their lives.
The program does not have a fixed curriculum; instead, mentors tailor their approach based on the goals and needs of their mentees. This approach aligns well with FBF’s range of resources, particularly something like ESSI Money, an engaging and dynamic game that was the focus of the session.
Our organisations share numerous common values, including the fundamental desire to empower young people with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in life.
Lindsey Phillips, the Teen Life Skills Coordinator said, “Financial literacy is a huge problem for young people in care. I’ve had great feedback from the volunteers so far, and they are excited to use the resources with the people they work with!”
It was an honour to guide these passionate volunteers through our resources, and we are eagerly anticipating learning about their application and the positive effects they will have on the young people they work with.
If you work for an organisation that is interested in Professional Development, please get in touch with our team via info@financialbasics.org.au