YELLOWKNIFE, NT, March 31, 2022 /CNW/ - Scotiabank today announced a donation of $500,000 to the YWCA NWT, a charity dedicated to supporting women and children move from crisis to stability in the Northwest Territories, as part of its commitment to removing barriers to career advancement for disadvantaged groups.

Scotiabank's gift will be directed toward YWCA NWT's Employment Readiness Support Program to help women and families overcome barriers to employment and enter or re-enter the workforce. The program, offered through the YWCA's Transitional Housing Program, provides basic career development support, resources, and guidance, and helps people build fundamental employment skills like resume writing, job searching and money management.

"We are proud to support the YWCA NWT in their work to support women and children that have been affected by trauma to find security and stability," says Meigan Terry, Senior Vice President and Chief Social Impact, Sustainability and Communications Officer at Scotiabank. "Safe homes are needed to build safe and thriving communities, and we recognize the importance of helping more families gain financial independence, build successful careers and contribute to their local economies at their fullest potential."

Scotiabank's support of the YWCA NWT is an initiative within ScotiaRISE, the Bank's 10-year $500 million initiative that aims to promote economic resilience among disadvantaged groups.

"Our Employment Readiness Support Program not only provides employment-specific training, skills development and job-matching assistance, it also helps prepare clients for the workforce by meeting them where they are at and providing additional assistance essential to workplace success like literacy and numeracy skills and connecting them with other resources such as counseling, trauma recovery, and important tools to help them holistically move forward in their job and career journey," said Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, Executive Director, YWCA NWT. "We're so thankful for Scotiabank's support to make this program a success."

Through ScotiaRISE, Scotiabank is fostering sustainable change for underrepresented groups by partnering with programs and organizations across its footprint that provide the tools people need to improve their education and employment prospects, adapt to changing circumstances, and increase the likelihood of financial success.

ScotiaRISE has supported nearly 200 charities and deployed $26 million in community investments globally in its first year and continues to invest in community initiatives that are making a difference.

For more information on ScotiaRISE and Scotiabank's commitment to diversity and inclusion, visit: https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/about/our-company/diversity-and-inclusion.html

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of approximately 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.2 trillion (as at January 31, 2022), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank