OhioHealth, Fifth Third offer credit education

MARION – OhioHealth’s Marion General Hospital teamed up with Fifth Third Bank on Thursday and Friday to offer financial services and educational information to their employees and community residents.

“We believe that if you give people the tools and resources to make sure their financial affairs are in order, that will make them that much more successful in life,” said Stephanie Stewart-Young, senior vice president for community and economic development with Fifth Third Bank.

Stewart-Young said OhioHealth, one of their corporate partners, had approached them about bringing their services, provided inside a 40-foot bus, back to Marion. Fifth Third bank previously worked with Marion Goodwill last year to offer similar services to their employees.

The bus, called the “Financial Empowerment Mobile,” travels around the U.S. and is currently in a three-week stay in central Ohio. Next week’s focus is the greater Columbus area.

In Marion, they offered free credit information and educational information on finding employment and improving personal credit, including a credit class led by financial wellness specialist Robert Saveski.

“We’re going over the components of (personal) credit and ways to boost it,” Saveski said. These strategies include limiting the number of credit cards used and making as close to full payments as possible. Bad credit, he said, can lead to difficulty getting loans or higher rates if they are given.

Stewart-Young said they had around 50 participants in the first few hours of their Thursday session, and several Marion General employees said they’d gotten a lot out of the program.

“It’s good information, it’s information not everybody’s aware of,” said Deb Smith. Debra Mawer agreed with her, and also praised the food served.

“I really enjoyed this, I’m really liking Fifth Third Bank a lot more and more now,” said nutrition specialist Crystal Reeves. “This is going to be really helpful for me.”