LIFT and Capital One Join Forces in Million Dollar Commitment to Fight Poverty in the United States
Multi-year Partnership Announced at LIFT's Annual Spring Benefit
NEW YORK, May 22, 2013 /3BL Media/ - LIFT, a national organization working to help families facing tough times achieve economic stability and well-being in the United States, has announced Capital One’s commitment to a multi-year investment totaling $1 million toward LIFT’s work to expand economic opportunities for people striving for a better future for themselves and their families. In addition, the investment includes in-kind services for on-the-ground community support from Capital One’s regional associates. This announcement was made at the LIFT Annual Spring Benefit—the organization’s flagship fundraising event of which Capital One is the premiere sponsor—held last night at the Highline Ballroom in Manhattan.
“At both Capital One and LIFT, we understand that poverty is a complex and multi-faceted problem and all of its associated issues—unemployment, homelessness, hunger, illiteracy, health care costs, and more—are interlinked,” said Heather Cox, LIFT national board member and executive vice president, U.S. Card Operations at Capital One. “Working together, we hope to help reshape the national conversation on poverty in a manner that recognizes the inherent dignity, value and potential of all individuals and works to find solutions to this complicated issue.”
This multi-layered, multi-year partnership comes as an expansion to current regional engagements where Capital One is a key supporter of LIFT’s comprehensive and customized wrap-around services to families. This support enables LIFT to further address the multi-generational cycle of poverty in six key U.S. cities: Chicago, Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Los Angeles.
“This partnership is a critical step forward in our ability to advance our work. The fact is that millions of our neighbors are in—or on the verge of—economic crisis. And our experience has shown that moving past crisis to economic stability requires more than income. It requires strengthening a person’s confidence, making sure they have people in their corner, and navigating to the resources they need to stabilize their lives, like decent jobs and safe housing,” says Kirsten Lodal, CEO and co-founder of LIFT. “Quite simply, at LIFT we believe we all need the same types of support—confidence, connections and resources—to get through shaky ground moments in our lives, regardless of our neighborhood or our background. We are proud to have Capital One as a partner in these efforts.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 50 million Americans—one in six individuals—live below the poverty line. According to the federal poverty measure, a family of four is considered below the poverty line if it earns less than $23,550 a year, which translates into an average of $16 per person per day to cover basic daily needs, such as food, bus fare to doctor’s appointments and utility bills.
LIFT aims to establish a new standard for holistic and enduring solutions in our country’s fight against poverty through its comprehensive and compassionate model that helps its clients to secure better-paying jobs, safer homes, valuable education and training, and the means to afford healthcare, transportation and food.
During the organization’s Annual Spring Benefit, entitled “LIFTing Our Veterans,” LIFT celebrated a year of remarkable growth and achievement, and formally launched its New York office’s Veteran’s Initiative—a veterans-serving-veterans model of support where veterans can work collaboratively with a LIFT advocate to locate employment, housing, and other critical services. The event featured a Capital One sponsored concert by the New Directions Veterans Choir, an award winning a cappella group that consists of men and women who have served proudly in the United States Military. The group members, all of whom have experienced moments of crisis such as homelessness and unemployment, shared their journey to solid ground and stability with guests. To learn more about LIFT or its event Annual Spring Benefit, visit www.liftcommunities.org.
About Investing for Good
Through Investing for Good, Capital One focuses on four areas that are key building blocks of economic opportunity: Affordable Housing, Education, Financial Literacy and Small Business and Workforce Development. To maximize the impact of Investing for Good, Capital One examines local market needs and uses data-driven insights to develop innovative programs and engage in meaningful partnerships with nonprofits to provide the wrap-around support needed to address the most pressing economic issues challenging the long-term economic prosperity and well-being of individuals, families and businesses. An important aspect of Investing for Good is sustaining strong relationships with nonprofit partners, and using Capital One resources to help extend the capacity of nonprofit partners to deliver on their missions and serve their constituents. In 2012, Capital One was ranked number five in The Civic 50, a ranking of America’s most community-minded companies. More information on Capital One’s Investing for Good initiative can be found at www.CapitalOneInvestingForGood.com
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a Fortune 500 company with more than 900 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Its subsidiaries, Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A. offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. We apply the same principles of innovation, collaboration and empowerment in our commitment to our communities across the country that we do in our business. We recognize that helping to build strong and healthy communities - good places to work, good places to do business and good places to raise families - benefits us all and we are proud to support this and other community initiatives.
About LIFT
LIFT works to lift families out of poverty in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC where it employs a people-powered solution to support members of the community working to secure a decent job, safe housing, the education they need to advance, or critical social services. Each client gets a team of Advocates who stick with them every step of the way during their journey with LIFT. Advocates are rigorously-trained partners and problem solvers who work side by side to set goals, and make connections to resources to help clients move their lives forward. Since 1998, LIFT has helped more than 70,000 families get access to critical resources that help them move from uncertainty to stability.
Contact:
Patience B. Peabody
(202) 560-2457
pbpeabody@liftcommunities.org
Shelley Solheim
(917) 589-6203
shelley.solheim@capitalone.com
