Northern College in Barnsley has received a grant of £5,000 to fund money management skills courses for adults with learning disabilities in the local area.
The funding was provided by the Santander Foundation, which offers Discovery Grants to UK registered charities for projects that help disadvantaged people in local communities.
Northern College is a residential college dedicated to the education and training of adults who do not have any formal qualifications. The college is passionate about removing all barriers to learning and promoting social inclusion to empower individuals and transform the communities in which they live.
Adults with learning disabilities are often living on low incomes and may find themselves in financial hardship if they lack the skills and understanding to manage their money. This can lead to social isolation, poor health, lack of opportunity and spiralling financial difficulties.
Jill Westerman, Principal at Northern College, said: “The ability to manage money is such a fundamental part of being able to live independently that it is a vital skill. This funding gives us the chance to make a real difference to the lives of adults with learning disabilities and support them to have more control over their own finances. We are grateful to Santander for helping make this happen.”
Gaynor McMullan, Branch Manager at Santander’s Barnsley branch, said: “The Santander Foundation makes hundreds of donations every year to good causes throughout the UK. We are committed to playing a key part in the community and we are delighted to be supporting Northern College, and hope the donation makes a real difference to local people.”
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Notes to Editors:
Media Contact
Leonora Burtenshaw at Santander
Email: leonora.burtenshaw@santander.co.uk Tel: 020 7756 4543
Sarah Taylor at Northern College
Email: sarahtaylor@northern.ac.uk Tel: 012 2677 6000
About Northern College
The Northern College is a residential college dedicated to the education and training of men and women who are without formal qualifications and are seeking to return to learning. It also offers training for those who are active in community and voluntary groups as well as in trade unions. Northern College was recently graded as Outstanding with no improvements required. For more information please visit: www.northern.ac.uk
Santander Foundation
The Santander Foundation is at the heart of the Bank’s community activities, providing grants to small charities and social enterprises working with disadvantaged people to fund skills, knowledge and innovation projects across the UK. Discovery Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support three types of activity:
- Explorer: improving people’s knowledge
- Transformer: supporting skills and experience
- Changemaker: innovative solutions to social challenges
Over the last five years, the Santander Foundation has provided £26 million in funding to 13,914 UK charities through Discovery Grants and Staff Matched Donations. For more information please visit: www.santanderfoundation.org.uk
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 31 December 2017, the bank serves around 14 million active customers with c19,500 employees and operates through 806 branches (which includes 61 university branches) and 64 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.