IMPACT has, over several months, worked collaboratively with members of ANGLE Credit Union, Holy Family Church, Arbourthorne and some parents and staff at Arbourthorne Junior School to start to tackle issues of financial exclusion.

Credit Unions are an essential weapon in the fight against financial exclusion. However, their accessibility is often restricted by the amount of volunteer time that can be given to running collection points.  Not everyone who would welcome Credit Union memberships can gain access.

Within a few weeks of the collection point opening at the school the mums were running the busiest collection point in Sheffield.     The group is not resting on its laurels; they plan an advertising campaign within school to encourage further use of the facility.

Some of the group are also following a bookkeeping course delivered by SCUDA - Sheffield Credit Union Development Agency - which will impart skills that will be useful in a wider context than just Credit Unions.

What about the future?

The parents will be sharing their experience with up to 21 other schools in the same Educational Action Zone, with a view to encouraging them to open similar collection points. With the co-operation of local Credit Unions, the scheme

could be replicated in other areas across the whole city and beyond.

The parents' success, and ANGLE’s commitment to spreading the Credit Union message, has encouraged local funders to offer assistance for workers.

Well done ANGLE and Arbourthorne Junior School.