Toronto, ON (Tuesday, March 9, 2010) – Thompson Rivers University’s “Students In Free Enterprise” or SIFE team has been named the 2010 HSBC SIFE Financial Education Challenge Regional Champion by national charitable organization Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) and proud program supporter HSBC Bank Canada.

All Western based SIFE teams were judged by live panels of business professionals, and regional champions were announced on Friday March 5th in Calgary at the 2010 ACE Western Canada Regional Exposition.

The SIFE TRU team stood out to the judges because of their dedication to providing financial education to small businesses as well as individuals living with brain injuries. SIFE TRU has dedicated 2350 volunteer hours and provided $30,500 in economic opportunity in the Kamloops area through their efforts. The team is currently operating two programs at no cost to participants:

• SIFE TRU Consulting - provides consulting services to local small businesses in the community and on campus, teaching them each the importance of being financial literate to operate a thriving business.
• Dollars and Sense - provides financial education to people living with brain injuries, including implementing budgets and enhancing fraud awareness.

"The support our team has from the School of Business and Economics and the community is just so strong,” explains SIFE team member, Megan Lepp. “This award truly validates all of the hard work we've put in and the challenges our team has faced!"

The end goal of this annual challenge is for SIFE teams to help improve the ability of others, in their community, to make informed and positive financial decisions. Teams have been provided the necessary tools and training from ACE to develop and implement their extensive projects to help others. The TRU team will now move on to the national level of competition taking place in Calgary on May 10th to 12th.

“The SIFE TRU team’s efforts are a great example of the financial education movement our students are leading across this country,” explains ACE President, Amy Harder. “I would also like to thank HSBC for being instrumental in allowing ACE to lead this national initiative.”

About ACE
Founded in the mid-1980s, Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) is a national, charitable organization that is teaching and igniting young Canadians to create brighter futures for themselves and their communities. ACE delivers a team-based program called Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) and an individual-based program, the Student Entrepreneur National Competition. These programs provide university and college students access to real world experience, through the implementation of outreach projects and business ventures that complement in-class studies. Students involved in ACE make a meaningful contribution to their communities today, and discover their potential to achieve an even greater impact as the leaders of tomorrow. Last year, ACE students created 600 jobs, logged 260,000 volunteer hours, impacted 63,000 people, and generated over $40 million in economic activity. ACE is currently established on over 50 post-secondary campuses across Canada.

Contact:
Jaime Szegvary
Communications Consultant, ACE
416.619.8994
jaime@acecanada.ca     

Megan Lepp
SIFE TRU
250.819.0201
lepp.megan@gmail.com

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