A Message from our $1,000 Winner

“I am being diligent to ensure the birth of my vision to ensure abundance for my son.” – Marietta

Marietta is our May $1000 winner BUT she was unable to claim her full prize. Now she wants to send a message to everyone.

It’s been exactly one year since Marietta enrolled in Fund My Future PGH at a community event. She felt confident about signing up because she always wanted to save for her child and this was the perfect opportunity. Shortly after enrolling, she went to her local bank and opened a savings account for her child. After opening the account, she felt accomplished and had a strong feeling that one day she was going to be the $1000 winner.

After opening the account, she found herself making sporadic deposits. Then in December she became discouraged and was running low on funds and decided to make emergency withdrawals. At this point winning didn’t seem possible anymore.

A few days before receiving notification informing her that she was a winner, she’d received the Fund My Future PGH deposit reminder. She paid little attention and skimmed past it, assuming she wouldn’t win. Imagine how surprised she was to receive the call that her raffle ticket number was drawn for $1000.

Because Marietta did not make a deposit of at least $1 that month, she was unable to claim the $1000 prize.  Now, Marietta has automatic recurring deposits going into her child’s account and she still believes that she will have an opportunity to win again. This whole experience has taught her about having faith, trusting herself and sticking with it. Her motto now is, “Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.”
 

Story Written By: Toni Corinealdi
Edited By: Sarah Dieleman Perry

A Message from a $100 Winner

“Taking the Three-Part Fund My Future PGH course helped me to build the confidence in knowing that I can save even if it’s just a little bit at a time” – Shakita

Shakita enrolled in Fund My Future PGH in 2021 at the Center of Life virtual Fund My Future PGH Three Part Saving Series. Attendees received a $25 stipend to deposit into their child’s savings account, after attending all three sessions. Shakita has been saving regularly ever since opening the account. In the beginning, she was saving $5 a month for her child; now she saves $15 every month.

Before saving with Fund My Future PGH, Shakita was not saving for her children.  She also struggled saving for herself, due to lack of funds. Although she often started saving for herself, she always ended up depleting any money saved due to unforeseen circumstances.

Now that Shakita has been saving for her children, she finds it easier to save for herself. She recently took some time to develop a strategy where her personal savings would not be connected to her debit card, so she wouldn’t have immediate access to saved funds. Implementing this simple new plan has made all the difference.

Shakita and her family recently attended the Fund My Future PGH Ten Year Anniversary Celebration. She looked forward to attending and finally meeting everyone in person. At the event, she won a $100 Visa gift card for referring families to enroll. She decided to split her win between her two children for summertime fun!

Story Written By: Toni Corinealdi: 
Edited By: Sarah Dieleman Perry