On a mild Tuesday morning in late July a group of senior citizens began arriving at ASSIST Community Services Centre in downtown Edmonton. The room was set up for a workshop for 15 people, but they kept coming. After squeezing together and bringing in more chairs the workshop, Money Matters for Newcomers and New Canadians, began with 23 eager participants.

Why so eager? This was the very first Money Matters workshop to be delivered in Mandarin using the just published Simplified Chinese workbooks. The first part of the workshop focused on basic banking, while the second part looked at how to build credit.

The participants, most of whom were born in mainland China, were all seniors who spoke just a few words of English. The opportunity to learn about managing their money in a new country in a language they could fully understand was met with unreserved enthusiasm.

“The Simplified Chinese workbooks were so helpful,” said Workshop Lead Cindy Chen, “it allowed the group to fully absorb new information about credit cards, TFSAs, and RESPs. Some learners mentioned that they intended to set up a RESP gift for their grandchildren. We even had a few people stay afterwards to ask the TD Bank Group Volunteer Facilitator more questions.”

ASSIST runs financial workshops several times a year, but this is the first time they delivered Money Matters in Simplified Chinese targeting seniors. Depending on what stage of life learners are in, ASSIST has identified that different age categories have unique areas of financial interest such as student loans, mortgages or retirement. Chen said that they are offering another Money Matters workshop in November, this time targeting young adults.

To find out more about Money Matters and Money Matters for Newcomers and New Canadians, to sign up to host a workshop in your community, or to access free resources, visit ABCMoneyMatters.ca.