Thirteen teams of 16 to 24-year-olds across the UK have have been awarded £500 grants to develop local sustainability campaigns in a bid to win a nation-wide money saving challenge set by Lloyds Banking Group (LBG).

LBG’s ‘Money for Life’ competition challenges young people across the UK to devise projects aimed at promoting good money management within the local community.

Of the 340 teams participating, 13 have geared their projects towards cutting waste arisings and reducing energy use.

Projects

Thirteen of the competing teams have focused their campaigns on promoting the money-saving potentials of sustainable living. For example:

• Fife Swap Shop’s ‘Opportunity’ project aims to teach the community about the saving potential of reusing and repurposing items by hosting a community ‘swap shop’ for unwanted Christmas presents;
• Eco Money Savers aim to educate learners and the surrounding community on the efficienies of reducing waste and energy use by carrying out demonstrations, video blogs, and distributing posters about recycling, reducing energy costs, and renewable sources of energy;
• Electrack, a team from Southern Regional College Armagh, is developing an app to provide tips and information on how to save money on energy bills;
• The Prince's Trust Fairbridge Programme is seeking to show how alternative fuel sources can save money by experimenting with an alternative fuel source made from waste paper and cardboard, as well as raising awareness around the realities of fuel poverty; and
• Upcycle, a team from the Coops Foyer community centre, is hoping to show users how they can save money by upcycling old or unwanted items into new products.

Challenge details

Participating groups have each received a £500 grant to run their projects in their local area before submitting their findings to the Money for Life judges in March, who will choose the best teams to present at national finals held in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and regional finals for the North and South of England.

Winners at each of the five regional finals will be awarded £1,000 to donate to a registered charity of their choice, and will be invited to represent their region at the UK Grand Final in London on 28 May 2015.

The winners of the UK final will win a further £3,000 to donate to a charity of their choice, and will see their project

“A pressing need for greater financial awareness”

David Rowsell, Head of the Money for Life Programme at Lloyds Banking Group said: “Promoting good money management is more important now than ever before, and the Money for Life programme exists to address a pressing need for greater financial awareness across UK communities. The challenge projects this year show how much young people care about these issues and it is great to see how they put them into action.

“The Money for Life programme helps equip communities across the UK with the skills and capabilities they need to make the most of their money and sits at the core of our Group’s commitment to Help Britain Prosper. I wish all of the teams competing in this year’s challenge the very best of luck.”

Money for Life is Lloyds Banking Group’s award-winning personal money management programme, targeted at young people and adults in further education, training and community organisations. Lloyds Banking Group has invested £10 million in the programme since 2010.

The 2014/15 challenge is being delivered in association with CollegesWales, Youth Cymru, National Skills Academy for Financial Services, UK Youth, Young Scot and NOW.

Find out more about the challenge at the ‘Money for Life’ website or watch a video on how to develop a project below.