Media contacts:
Clare Duncan, Houston LISC
713-597-6843 or cduncan@lisc.org
Helen Tso, for Bank of America
469-917-6231 or htso@webershandwick.com
Houston LISC receives $35,000 from Bank of America to spur economic gains for low-income families, communities
July 18, 2017 – The Houston office of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) today announced a $35,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to support programs focused on reviving local economies, including efforts to help residents increase their financial stability and build employment skills required to compete for middle-class jobs.
This investment from Bank of America Charitable foundation is part of a national $3.75 million, three-year grant to LISC aimed at connecting low-income residents to new economic opportunities and a community development grant that will specifically focus support on Houston LISC’s network of five Financial Opportunity Centers (FOCs). Supported FOC services will include educational services, skills-based training, job placement and financial coaching to help clients improve their incomes, build credit, manage debt and save for the future.
“This grant provides vital support to improving economic opportunities for low-income families and communities in Houston,” says Amanda Timm, Houston LISC Executive Director. “In particular this investment will help our five Financial Opportunity Centers provide families with the tools to build a more stable financial future and seek meaningful employment.”
One of the many success stories from this important work comes from the Chinese Community Center, an FOC in Houston’s Alief neighborhood:
Robert learned about the Computer Support Specialist training program at the Chinese Community Center in 2015, while contending with a nursing job he found emotionally challenging, especially when working with dying patients. While his background and experience was in the medical billing and nursing fields, he wanted to build a career based on his passion for IT and computers. He worked with his employment coach to become registered for the training and started the program in January of 2016. Throughout the course, he put his classroom skills into practice by providing software and hardware support to people in his community and personal network. Robert completed the training in May 2016, passed three key training certifications, and was hired by Hewlett Packard by July to serve as a full time desktop support technician. He now earns $15/hour and is enjoying his ability to help people through his new career. In addition to working on his career goals, he also worked with his financial coach at the FOC to improve his credit score by nearly 150 points.
“It is because of the progress of every individual like Robert that we continue to connect individuals to long-term success through skills-building, jobs and financial education, which is critical to achieving greater economic mobility in our community,” said Hong Ogle, Bank of America Houston President. “Through our 27-year partnership with Houston LISC, we have seen the incredible impact their multi-faceted approach to low-income neighborhoods has on helping families and individuals build pathways to economic mobility.”
As a long-time supporter of LISC, Bank of America has provided over $920,000 in grant funds to Houston LISC since 1990.
About Houston LISC
The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) operates in 31 cities across the country, providing resources for neighborhood leaders and community based organizations to create strong and healthy neighborhoods. For over 25 years, Houston LISC has invested more than $262 million in Houston communities, leveraging an additional $711 million. This investment has created more than 7,900 affordable homes and apartments and 1.4 million sq. ft. of commercial, community and educational space, as well as helped thousands of people improve their financial health and strengthen their neighborhoods. For more information, visit www.lisc.org/houston.
About Bank of America
At Bank of America, our focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors is critical to fulfilling our purpose of helping make people’s financial lives better. Our commitment to growing our business responsibly is embedded in every aspect of our company. It is demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our customers, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocate groups, such as community and environmental organizations, in order to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at www.bankofamerica.com/about, and connect with us on Twitter at @BofA_News