Project Upskill

Project Upskill was created to meet people where they are and guide them forward with a 6-topic financial literacy and wellness curriculum that heals the past, stabilizes the present, and builds a sustainable future. Our pilot, launched last year, showed success but also revealed a challenge. While our content was valuable and informative, our clients struggled to truly connect with it. They shared that the content did not feel personal and did not reflect their financial realities.

Over the past year, we worked on changing our approach, shifting from lectures to activity-based workshops built around real-world scenarios that mirror the clients’ financial situations. Instead of just hearing advice, participants now live the lessons by applying the skills they learn to problems they face. In just four sessions, we grew from reaching 30 participants to 86, a 190 percent increase.

Thanks to the funding we received through the Field Law Community Fund Program’s Next Gen Award, we were able to increase the number of activity-based workshops we implemented. The funding covered costs such as transportation, refreshments for the patients, and materials for the workshops. The majority also contributed to the production of our workbooks, which we were able to distribute to more recovery centres so our patients can have access to the material at any time. This support allowed Project Upskill to establish partnerships at two additional recovery centres across Calgary and implement our workshops at their facilities.

The impact of Project Upskill has primarily been on people in addiction recovery centres. We can go in and provide them with financial literacy on topics they may lack knowledge of, along with answering any questions they may have about the workshop or materials. We ensured that any personal financial questions could be directed to a financial advisor. For the upcoming scope of our project, we plan to reach out to additional recovery centres throughout Calgary and expand our workshops. We believe that everyone deserves the right to be knowledgeable about financial literacy