Member Article

National acclaim for Sale Sharks’ school programme

A Sale Sharks-led project providing schoolchildren in the North West and North Wales with access to free financial education has secured national acclaim and been shortlisted for two major national awards.

“Number Cruncherz”, created from scratch by Manchester-based Premiership Rugby team Sale Sharks, its principal partners and club sponsors MBNA, based in Chester, and UK charity pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group), has already delivered money management lessons to more than 6,000 pupils in secondary schools across Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Merseyside, Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria and North Wales.

Now in its second year, Number Cruncherz has been shortlisted in the ‘Best Educational Programme’ category of the national Corporate Engagement Awards, celebrating the best corporate partnerships, sponsorships and CSR programmes in the UK. The ceremony is being held at the Grosvenor Square, London on Wednesday 16th September.

The programme has also been shortlisted in the ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Project of the Year’ category of the National Charity Awards, now in its 16th year. The awards recognise excellence across the many fields of charity management, promote and raise the profile of the voluntary sector, and celebrate the work charities do alongside partners in the public and private sectors.

“Number Cruncherz is a project that offers so much to schools and schoolchildren in the region”, said Jonny Acheson, who heads up Sale Sharks’ Community Trust, “We’re delighted with the recognition the project is receiving.”

Number Cruncherz is provided entirely free to schools across the North West and North Wales and children take part in a series of sessions focused on income and expenditure; balancing needs and wants and budgeting with the help of Sale Sharks’ Community Coaches. The sessions, tied closely to the national curriculum, use rugby-themed examples to bring the programme to life.

MBNA’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mark Elliott, added: “We’re incredibly proud that Number Cruncherz is considered one of the very best CSR and educational programmes in the UK. When we set out with the project it was because we wanted to help young people to be in a better position to look after their finances when they grow up.

“Through Number Cruncherz we’re helping to give thousands of young people in England and Wales a better understanding of careful money management. It is a life skill we regard as incredibly important if we are to support better educated and more informed future consumers.”

The project has already received international acclaim, securing a silver award at the coveted 2015 International CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Excellence Awards in London. It was also shortlisted at this year’s National Rugby Awards, endorsed by England Rugby captain Chris Robshaw and held in London earlier this month.

The Number Cruncherz programme is free for schools in the North West and North Wales to join and anyone wanting to get involved or more information should contact community@salesharks.com or call 0161 667 7518.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Number Cruncherz .