Lexington, KY -At a time when many dread checking their account balances, much less discussing their overall finances, local businesses are joining with community organizations and Fifth Third Bank to bring a busload of fiscal information directly to them.
"The reason we do what we do is because we know people are intimidated, and we know that people won't come to the Big Blue Building," said Janet Beard, vice president of community affairs for Fifth Third about the Fifth Third eBus, which aims to keep people in their homes and help them make it through the rough economy.
"This effort was to take the bus into the streets, directly into those neighborhoods, and take the resources to them so that they wouldn't have to have that fear or that barrier of coming into the Big Blue Building or anyplace downtown. We felt this was a more comfortable environment, less intimidating, where people can come on board and not feel upset about the help they are going to receive," she said.
When the eBus started rolling through the streets of Lexington two years ago, it was focused on helping people become homeowners, but as the market has changed as a result of the economic downturn, so has the bus.
"We looked at the individuals in the community Ö who had the expertise, who had the knowledge in home ownership, on credit counseling, foreclosure prevention. Those who had that experience we invited down to be with us," said Beard, which is why on the bus's five-day tour of Lexington businesses and neighborhoods, Fifth Third representatives will be joined by the Community Ventures Corporation, Central Kentucky Job Centers, the Kentucky Housing Corporation, the Kentucky Small Business Development Center and others to answer a wide range of questions people may have.
"Fifth Third may not Ö always be the best to give the financial advice because some of (their questions) are not really in our expert area, and ... we may not be the bank that will work for them, but they can work directly with these other (resources that will be available)," said Brant Welch, affiliate marketing manager for Fifth Third.
The bus will make stops starting on April 21 at ITT Technical Institute on Fortune Drive and will continue through the April 25 with stops at local churches, a health center and a shopping center, in hopes of reaching at least 500 people who might not normally seek out assistance, Welch said.
"We have a lot of students coming in, they have families, they have jobs, they're going back to school and they want to understand. (Or) they're starting their life and it's important for them to understand the credit aspect too," said Anthony Roberts, director of Career Services for ITT Tech, which will host the eBus from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the April 21. "One of the main goals of the bus is the home financing and understanding how that works; that's very important to get out to not only young people but also your non-traditional students as well."
This is the second year in a row that the bus will spend a day at ITT Tech, which has seen its enrollment go through the roof as the economy has fallen, going from less than 200 students enrolled two years ago to 550 currently, according to Roberts.
"Our students usually have families. They've usually been in the work force for a long time. They have bills such as house and car payments already. They're usually the support for their family, not getting support from someone else," Roberts said.
The stop at ITT Tech last year was the busiest of the tour, according to Welch, as nearly 200 boarded the bus to talk about their finances. While the eBus is parked at ITT, it is open to anyone who wants to stop in, and the employees of Affiliated Computer Services' (ACS) location across Fortune Drive will also be encouraged to participate this year just as they did last year, said ACS spokesman Chris Gilligan.
"This economy is affecting almost everybody in some way, and obviously we're looking for any way we can to help our employees address issues they may be facing," said Gilligan, whose company specializes in resources for businesses.
"We're looking for non-traditional ways to help our employees deal with the economy, and this is one," he said.
Now in its third year in Lexington and fourth for Fifth Third overall, the bus continues to change to fit the community beyond just the recession, according to Beard. "It used to be, several years ago, all about homeownership and promoting homeownership, and that's the way the bus started. But as things evolved and things began to change, it became less of a homeownership focus, though that aspect is absolutely still there. But then here comes the problems with foreclosures and things like that, so it was our responsibility to make sure we addressed those needs as well," she said.
As a part of that change, the eBus will also host four small business seminars on April 24 when it stops at Shiloh Baptist Church on East Fifth Street between noon and 6 p.m., Welch said. The bus's other stops are April 22 at Consolidated Baptist Church, 1625 Russell Cave Rd., from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., the April 23 at Family Care Center, 1135 Red Mile Place, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the April 25 at the Northpark Wal-Mart, 500 West New Circle, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.