{"id":395045,"date":"2026-01-08T00:59:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T00:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/395045\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T00:59:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T00:59:19","slug":"grant-funds-allow-expansion-of-financial-counselling-for-kingston-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/395045\/","title":{"rendered":"Grant funds allow expansion of financial counselling for Kingston clients"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Resolve2-Google-FINAL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-215662 lazyload\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Resolve Counselling is located in the Unison Place building, located at 417 Bagot Street in downtown Kingston. Photo via Google Maps.<\/p>\n<p>Investment portfolios, interest rates, dividends, TSFAs, GICs\u2026 for the many people living pay cheque to pay cheque or struggling to get by, these terms blur into a daunting confusion that seems almost irrelevant when trying to stay afloat.<\/p>\n<p>Even for those with secure and good paying jobs, financial literacy \u2013 understanding the concepts and skills of managing money \u2013 can be challenging. So much so, in fact, the Government of Canada launched a five-year plan \u201cto create a more accessible, inclusive and effective financial literacy ecosystem\u201d for Canadians called \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/financial-consumer-agency\/programs\/financial-literacy\/financial-literacy-strategy-2021-2026.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Make Change that Counts: National Financial Literacy Strategy 2021-2026<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Household debt is one of the Canadian economy\u2019s largest financial vulnerabilities, according to the Bank of Canada (2019), and a survey by Edward Jones in 2024 found that 84 per cent of Canadians feel that financial education in school would have helped them manage their personal finances with less stress today. That same survey found that 64 per cent of Canadians say they did not learn about money management during their younger years.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing these concerning statistics, Resolve Counselling Services here in Kingston offers a Financial Wellness Program and, on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, Resolve announced that the program will expand in the new year, thanks to a grant from TD Bank.<\/p>\n<p>According to the announcement, TD Bank has made a three-year funding pledge of $90,000 towards the Financial Wellness Program offered by Resolve Counselling, allowing them to offer financial counselling to more people locally, regardless of their financial status or background.<\/p>\n<p>As Resolve Counselling explained, the program supports individuals and families who may be facing increased financial stress at the start of the year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJanuary is when many people take a hard look at their finances. With TD\u2019s support, we can expand access to financial counselling and education for those who need it most,\u201d Executive Director of Resolve Counselling, Stafford Murphy, said in the announcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis funding will have a real and lasting impact on our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Resolve explained that their Financial Wellness Program provides free and low-cost financial education and counselling from certified financial counsellors in a supportive, non-judgemental environment. The workshops, one-on-one sessions, and personalized coaching allow participants to \u201clearn to take control of their money, reduce stress, and plan with confidence,\u201d the organization said.<\/p>\n<p>The Financial Wellness Program offers clients consultations to help determine which Financial Wellness supports would be most beneficial for them, free of charge. However, the funding promise from TD Bank is specifically meant to support the financial wellness programming for \u201cindividuals living on lower incomes.\u201d The funding will allow eligible low-income participants to access the services \u2013 including financial education, assessment, budgeting, and coaching supports \u2013 free of charge, Resolve Counselling said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks to this funding, we are also able to offer our coaching programs on a sliding scale based off income.\u00a0 So, not only low-income clients benefit, but middle-income clients can benefit from reduced fees,\u201d Jeri Bittorf, Resolve\u2019s Financial Wellness Coordinator, told Kingstonist.<\/p>\n<p>Those behind the grant said they are proud to support Resolve Counselling in \u201cdelivering accessible programs that make a meaningful difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt TD, we recognize the importance of financial literacy in helping people feel more confident about their future,\u201d said Michelle Wilson, District Vice President of TD, in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Resolve\u2019s Financial Wellness Program includes:<\/p>\n<p>Financial literacy workshops on budgeting, debt, credit, and savingsPersonalized financial assessments to identify challenges and goalsOne-on-one money coaching to create practical financial plans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney stress is one of the leading causes of anxiety for Canadians,\u201d said Bittorf.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe good news is that small, consistent steps can make a big difference \u2014 and our program helps people take those first steps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For more information or to register, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.resolvecounselling.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">www.resolvecounselling.org<\/a> or email Resolve Counselling at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kingstonist.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#f59c9b939ab58790869a998390969a809b869099999c9b92db9a8792\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Resolve Counselling is located in the Unison Place building, located at 417 Bagot Street in downtown Kingston. Photo&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[49040,167133,2156,45,49,48,167134,5427,133,167135,7832,2518,167136,167137,167138,28086,76753,167139,54342,167140,167141,117396,5973,46699,112393,131,132,167142,167143,167144,55204],"class_list":["post-395045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-accessibility","tag-accessibility-for-low-income-residents","tag-budgeting","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-credit-counselling","tag-debt","tag-finance","tag-financial-coaching","tag-financial-literacy","tag-financial-planning","tag-financial-wellness-program","tag-free-financial-counselling","tag-funding-pledge","tag-grant-funding","tag-household-debt","tag-jeri-bittorf","tag-kingston","tag-low-or-no-cost","tag-make-change-that-counts","tag-managing-money","tag-money-management","tag-money-stress","tag-new-year","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-resolve-counselling-services","tag-sliding-scale-cost","tag-stafford-murphy","tag-td-bank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}