Scores of residents in and around the Harbour View community, including school children, are set to benefit from financial education and targeted financial solutions as the VM Group renews its partnership with the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) for a third year.
VM’s partnership with the JPL began in December 2021 during the 2021/2022 competition season, when the Group signed on as club sponsors for the Harbour View Football Club. Harbour View went on to be crowned champions that year. The engagement continued for 2022/2023, and has now been extended for the current season, until July 31, 2024.
Through the ongoing partnership, VM has been providing much needed financial support to the club’s operations, and engaging players, coaches and administrative staff in financial planning workshops, through its VM Financial Education to Empower (VM FETE) programme. This year, the Group is stepping up its support, with more planned engagements off the field, including an activation of its VM School Savers Programme throughout schools in the community.
VM Group Chief Customer and Brand Officer, Judith Forth-Blake, said VM was deliberate about adding more value to the partnership. “Sports can be a vehicle for transformation, especially in the lives of the most vulnerable, and we are happy to have this platform to provide members of the football fraternity with access to financial solutions and critical education to help them make wise choices for their wellbeing. However, our aim is to always find ways to make a greater impact, so we are seeking to move beyond the field, into the community and the schools, to encourage healthy financial habits from early and to develop relationships that will allow us to help more people transform their lives.”
Two schools will be targeted in the first instance through the VM School Savers Programme, which not only includes a savings plan but incentives such as discounts from partnering merchants who supply school products, offer eye testing, school medicals and other services. The wider Harbour View community will be engaged through a financial expo and other promotional activities, which will expose them to VM’s transformational products and services and financial education sessions.
Forth-Blake hopes this will be the catalyst for VM to further deepen its partnership. “In our first season of sponsorship, we sweetened the deal for the Harbour View Football Club, who were the eventual champions, by contributing to the start-up of pension accounts for all players on the senior team. VM cares about the overall wellbeing of our existing and prospective Members and clients, and while we have the opportunity, we will continue to use this platform to demonstrate that care and empathy and work with the community to transform their financial future”.
