Welcome, Anna and Anika!
We are delighted to announce the addition of Anna and Anika to our team at Exodus Lending! Anna will be working directly with our program participants as our Program Coordinator, and Anika is serving as our Outreach and Fundraising VISTA for next year. Welcome to the team!
Anna graduated from Augsburg University with a Master’s in Business Administration with a focus on social responsibility and stewardship. She is passionate about helping others and has spent many years volunteering for local organizations.
Anika is a recent graduate from the University of St. Thomas where she earned degrees in Justice & Peace Studies and Psychology. At UST she developed a passion for social justice and fighting inequity. In this role at Exodus Lending, she hopes to learn community engagement skills that she can use to strengthen the organization and carry through to her future career.
Sandy’s Story
Our work at Exodus Lending continues to have a strong impact on the lives of our program participants. We are glad to be a part of this process as people free themselves from the payday loan debt trap. Meet one of our recently enrolled participants, Sandy:*
No matter how many hours Sandy worked, her paycheck was never enough to cover housing, groceries, and car maintenance. Every time she turned around it was “car repairs, car repairs, then more car repairs.” Keeping up with the bills and everyday expenses was a constant struggle, so she took out her first payday loan. Although it was a small amount, seemingly enough to make ends meet, payday lending is a trap. Sandy paid off the payday loan but was still short several hundred dollars needed to pay her bills. She was forced to take out another payday loan, and another, and another. Re-borrowing became a pattern. After almost two years in the payday loan debt trap, Sandy had paid over $500 dollars in interest and fees – more than the amount that she needed to borrow in the first place!
Now that Sandy has found Exodus Lending she is free from the payday loan debt trap. After enrolling in our program, Sandy proclaimed, “Thanks again for helping me break this cycle!” We’re overjoyed to be working with her, and are happy to see that she feels the same way.
*Name has been changed for confidentiality
Thank You, Affinity Plus Foundation!
We are thrilled to have received a Community Grant from the Affinity Plus Foundation to support our organizational goal of becoming a credit reporter with Credit Builders Alliance. By reporting our participants’ repayment to the credit bureaus, Exodus Lending will help improve their financial stability and ability to access non-predatory financial services. Thank you, Affinity Plus Foundation for your support!