Last year, when The Immigrant Education Society (TIES) ran a Registered Education Savings Program (RESP) event at its Westwinds campus, it was a certified hit.

More than 250 families registered for the event, which in turn packed the TIES offices and made it at times difficult for people to get information on how to save for their children’s futures.

This year, TIES expanded its RESP event in scale with more information and more room to have conversations, thanks to hosting by the Wingfield Golf Course.

“We got a lot of feedback last year about how tight the event was,” said Noha El Tanahi, Manager of Settlement and Financial Literacy at TIES.

“So, we decided we will try to accommodate more people. We also want to see more parents, not only our clients or our students. We want to see external parents who may be Calgarians just looking for information to open RESPs.”

This year’s event featured all five major banks, and as a first, representatives of both Bow Valley College and the University of Calgary.

The importance of having an opportunity to put people in front of both banks and educational institutions was summed up by TIES CEO Sally Zhao as granting the ability to invest in the future.

“Every dollar saved today builds a brighter future tomorrow. RESPs are not just savings, they’re seeds for future opportunities and success,” she said.

El Tanahi said that many newcomers to Canada are not aware of RESPs or the benefits that are provided to parents to provide their children with a post-secondary education.

“We also talk to them about the grant from the government for each kid who is eligible for also. The majority of our clients are low-income, so they get [Canada Learning Bonds] from the government. So by opening this RESP, this is actually an opportunity for them to receive this money from the government,” she said.

Visitors to the TIES event can sign up for an RESP on the spot instead of having to go to a bank at a later date, said El Tanahi.

That, she said, was a big boost to newcomers who strive to give their children a better future.

“My mind the two things for any immigrants—and I’m an immigrant myself, so I can tell you—we are coming here for our kids’ education, we are actually planning a future for our children, and buying a house,” she said.

“Once you buy a home here, so you don’t call your country where you’re coming from a home. Once the newcomers buy a first home here in Canada, you call Canada home. Planning for the education… all of this just to plan for their children’s future and education.”

The free RESP event runs at the Wingfield Golf Course from 10 am to 2 pm. Free shuttle buses run every hour from TIES to the golf course for those planning on using transit to access the event.