Birmingham social media star Luke Vernon has joined forces with NatWest Thrive and Marcus Rashford to mentor a local teenager.
Presenter, actor and comedian Luke, who has 1.9 million TikTok followers, has collaborated with local teen Tiger, with the pair teaming up for a series of TikTok shows – The NatWest Thrive Sessions.
NatWest Thrive with Marcus Rashford has been developed with the National Youth Agency. The programme works to help young people develop self-belief and inspire them to go after their dreams by introducing them to inspiring role models. It also encourages them to get into good money habits, addressing the emotional and psychological barriers that stop them thriving.
Luke and Tiger came together to collaborate on the NatWest Thrive TikTok sessions, after Tiger attended a series of NatWest Thrive Youth Club sessions at Solve: The Centre for Youth Violence and Conflict in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, this summer.
From the age of 13, Tiger was a carer for his mum and had to cope with all the usual pressures of growing up while also worrying about his mum. Attending a youth club and participating in sports clubs at school helped give Tiger some freedom and space for himself.
Tiger was selected as a NatWest Thrive Rising Star, one of two across the country. Both of the NatWest Thrive Rising Stars were then partnered with an inspirational mentor from the world of social media, performing arts and broadcast, with their mentor coaching them and sharing their experiences of overcoming obstacles on the way to success.
Tiger, 17, said: “Being a NatWest Thrive Rising Star has instilled and reinforced my own moral compass. Working with Luke was amazing, he really is awesome – just a regular guy who didn’t have an ego who was funny and made me feel comfortable, I appreciated that.
“My main learning point from the experiences of taking part in NatWest Thrive was that no matter your past and experiences, you can still make your dreams come true. It has made me really look at my future goals and given me a kickstart into making them a reality.”
Luke added:
“It’s been a pleasure to get to know Tiger and offer advice and support to help him understand the power of his potential. He’s been fantastic to work with and hopefully our NatWest Thrive TikTok Sessions, are seen by lots of other young people and help them learn how they can go after their dreams, build confidence and get into good money habits.”
NatWest, Marcus Rashford MBE and the National Youth Agency joined forces in April 2022 to launch NatWest Thrive. Aimed at eight to 24-year-olds, the programme aims to help young people develop a positive mindset around money and help champion their potential.
The programme came after a national survey by the Money & Pensions Service revealed that 80% of young people believed they would never be financially secure.
With 67% of young people also saying they worried about money, and only 8% of financial education coming from the classroom, NatWest, Marcus Rashford and the National Youth Agency collaborated to create a programme that offers much-needed support and guidance for young people.
As part of the campaign, the NatWest Thrive Youth Club sessions ran at 12 youth community centres across England throughout the summer, helping to address the lack of financial confidence and other emotional and psychological barriers to success that young people face today.
Lead by inspirational youth workers at 12 youth clubs across the country, young people took part in interactive, discussion-based sessions, designed to encourage self-reflection, broaden their horizons, cultivate their confidence and give them a grounding in how money works. The two-month programme focuses on three strands, Owning your Vision, Money Mindset and Money Talk.
Marcus Rashford, MBE, said: “I was so excited teaming up with NatWest to launch NatWest Thrive as I had come across so many young people who were struggling to break out of a negative mindset when it came to their future potential. We needed to intervene and help them envision success.
“The mentor aspect of the programme is key. Children need to find safety in people that they trust. And those that have bought into NatWest Thrive have demonstrated that it’s possible to change mindset, gain skills and confidence through consistency, openness, and collaboration.
“Money is often seen as the root cause of most stress and anxiety in a household, especially today but we want to chip away at that perception and help young people develop a more positive, optimistic, mindset when it comes to building for their futures.”
Dipesh Mistry, chair of NatWest regional board in the Midlands and East, said: “It’s fantastic to see Luke and Tiger’s collaboration come to life and exciting to think how their creative social media series could ultimately reach and support so many young people in Birmingham and beyond.
“Helping young people to thrive and develop a positive money mindset is central to our purpose at the bank. We’re here to help and know education from peers can have a big impact on young people. That’s why NatWest Thrive works with local and relatable people, so that young people can get advice and support in places they feel comfortable, from people they can relate to. By doing this, we hope to help as many young people as possible reach their potential.”
Imran Choudhury, Programme Manager, National Youth Agency, said: “It is wonderful to see Tiger sharing what he has learnt on his NatWest Thrive journey with other young people. The NYA is passionate about the power of youth work to help young people to discover their talents and access new opportunities which may otherwise be beyond their reach.
“NatWest Thrive with Marcus Rashford harnesses the special relationship which exists between youth workers and young people to build their life skills and nurture a growth mindset, which will help our Rising Stars and other participants now and throughout their adult lives.”
NatWest Thrive builds on NatWest’s long-term commitment to financial education and support for young people, such as its MoneySense programme which has run in schools across the UK for over 25 years.
For more information and to try out some NatWest Thrive activities for yourself, search ‘NatWest Thrive’ or visit https://www.natwest.com/current-accounts/childrens-accounts.html