A $2.5 Million Initiative to Provide Financial Literacy Education and Economic
Empowerment Programs
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Operation HOPE, Inc. (OHI), the
nation's leading provider of financial literacy education and economic
empowerment tools and services, today announced a $2.5 million contribution
from E*TRADE FINANCIAL to support OHI's Banking on Our Future program and to
continue support of the HOPE Center in Washington D.C./Anacostia. This
contribution is in addition to E*TRADE FINANCIAL's commitment in 2004 to open
the flagship Washington D.C./Anacostia Hope Center bringing the company's
total contribution to Operation HOPE to $5.5 million.
"Thanks to the vision and commitment of E*TRADE FINANCIAL's Chief Banking
Officer Arlen Gelbard, who serves on our national board of directors,
Operation HOPE and E*TRADE FINANCIAL, today announce a public/private
collaboration that could change the lives of tens of thousands of Americans,"
said OHI founder, chairman and chief executive officer, John Bryant. "This is
a model partnership for corporate America in the 21st Century."
E*TRADE FINANCIAL will support Operation HOPE by launching OHI's Banking
on Our Future program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and by expanding the Banking
on Our Future program office in the Washington, D.C. area. In addition,
E*TRADE FINANCIAL will provide office facilities, technical support and
volunteers for Operation HOPE's HOPE Corps -- the organization's volunteer
network. Hope Corps members are active in 11 program offices nationwide,
including California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon,
Rhode Island and Washington D.C.
Banking on Our Future, winner of the Oprah's Angel Network award and most
recently the U.S. Treasury Department's John Sherman Award for financial
literacy excellence, is the only national urban delivery platform for
financial literacy in the country. Since its inception, the program has
served over 139,000 individuals nationwide.
"E*TRADE FINANCIAL is proud to collaborate with Operation HOPE to
strengthen the Banking on Our Future Program," said Arlen Gelbard, Chief
Banking Officer, E*TRADE FINANCIAL. "Operation Hope should be commended for
its work with economic empowerment in this country. Through this
relationship, we hope to expand the reach of financial education."
Operation HOPE and E*TRADE FINANCIAL will also launch a new, interactive
website under the http://www.bankingonourfuture.org umbrella. This site, which
E*TRADE FINANCIAL has committed its own technical resources to help develop
and maintain, will be publicly unveiled by the end of the first quarter 2005.
Additionally E*TRADE FINANCIAL will support Operation HOPE's matching
grant program, which assists low-income, first-time home buyers by providing
down payment assistance on a match basis, from the Washington DC-Anacostia
HOPE Center, and in the home loan program in Northern and Southern California.
About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Operation HOPE, Inc. (OHI), is America's first nonprofit social investment
bank and a national provider of financial literacy and economic empowerment
programs. Through ongoing collaborations and long-term partnerships with
leading government, private sector, and community interests, OHI works to
bring self-sufficiency and a sustained spirit of revitalization to America's
inner-city communities. OHI's HOPE Centers, a growing network of inner-city
banking centers, have created more than 800 new homeowners and small business
owners, more than $125 million in funded loans, and more than $210 million in
commitments for homeownership and small business loans from their 250 bank and
corporate partners. OHI's Banking on Our Future program has delivered
financial literacy education and related services to more than 139,000
children across the country. In partnership with the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and a network of
private and community partners, OHI's HOPE Coalition America has provided free
financial counseling and casework services to Americans affected by natural
disasters and national emergencies in 125 cities in 35 states to date. Taken
together, these programs make Operation HOPE the national leader in economic
empowerment tools and services for the under-served in America. OHI and its
programs can be found online at http://www.operationhope.org,
http://www.bankingonourfuture.org, and http://www.hopecoalitionamerica.org.
About E*TRADE FINANCIAL
The E*TRADE FINANCIAL family of companies provide financial services
including brokerage, banking and lending for retail, corporate and
institutional customers. Securities products and services are offered by
E*TRADE Securities LLC (Member NASD/SIPC). Bank and lending products and
services are offered by E*TRADE Bank, a Federal savings bank, Member FDIC, or
its subsidiaries.
Operation HOPE Media Contact
Xavier Sibaja
213-891-2900
xavier.sibaja@operationhope.org
E*TRADE FINANCIAL Media Contact
Pam Erickson
617-296-6080
pam.erickson@etrade.com
E*TRADE FINANCIAL Investor Relations Contact
Adam Townsend
703-236-8719
adam.townsend@etrade.com
SOURCE Operation HOPE, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.etrade.com
CONTACT:
media, Xavier Sibaja of Operation HOPE,
+1-213-891-2900, or xavier.sibaja@operationhope.org; or media,
Pam Erickson, +1-617-296-6080, or pam.erickson@etrade.com, or
investor, Adam Townsend, +1-703-236-8719, or
adam.townsend@etrade.com, both of E*TRADE FINANCIAL
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