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<p>The Church of England’s work in support of credit unionshas been led by the Archbishop
of Canterbury’s Task Group on Responsible Credit and Savings, chaired by Sir Hector
Sants. Nationally, the Task Group has developed a number of strategic, church-led
initiatives, including matching the resources of local churches with the diverse needs
of local credit unions through the Church Credit Champions Network. To date, the pilot
scheme has engaged over 200 churches, trained 150 Credit Champions and is on target
to bring in 3,000+ new credit union members across London, Southwark and Liverpool
dioceses, with plans to roll out to 30 more dioceses from next year.</p><p>The Church
of England is also running the ‘LifeSavers’ programme which is piloting a holistic
financial education programme linked to savings clubs in primary schools. This was
trialled successfully in Church of England primary schools during 2015 and will be
rolled out to a further 120 church and community schools from early 2016, helping
to raise the profile of credit unions in these communities.</p><p>Locally, dioceses
and churches are involved in a wide range of activities in support of credit unions,
from running mass sign-ups and marketing campaigns and recruiting volunteers to the
board of credit unions to hosting access points in church building and promoting payroll
saving through links with local employers. According to a Church Urban Fund survey,
17% of Anglican parishes are actively involved in supporting credit unions in various
ways. This activity has generated widespread coverage in national and local media,
raising public awareness of credit unions. Further information is available on our
dedicated website: <a href="http://www.toyourcredit.org.uk/" target="_blank">www.toyourcredit.org.uk</a></p><br
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