PR | THEARC named a Bank of America Neighborhood Builder!
February 3, 2015
Reporters
May Contact:
Nicole
Nastacie, Bank of America, 1 980-388-7252
Bank of America Recognizes Building
Bridges Across the River and Literacy Council of Northern Virginia for
providing Health, Cultural, Social Programs and Access to Education and Skills
Training
Neighborhood
Builders® will receive
training for leaders and $200,000 in flexible funding
Washington– The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has named
Literacy Council of Northern
Virginia (LCNV) and Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR) as Neighborhood
Builders. The nonprofits are being recognized for their work helping low and
moderate income individuals gain access to education, healthcare, and other
basic human services. Currently marking its tenth anniversary, Neighborhood Builders is a strategic investment in communities that combines
$200,000 in flexible funding with leadership training for high-performing
nonprofits and their executives.
“We’re proud to support the work
of Building Bridges Across the River and the Literacy Council of Northern
Virginia, as they work to improve the quality of life and help empower their
constituents to participate more fully in our community,” said Jeff Wood,
Greater Washington market president, Bank of America. “The leadership training
and funding they’ll receive through Neighborhood Builders will allow them to
expand their efforts to support the underserved residents in the Greater
Washington area.”
Serving the community east
of the Anacostia River in Wards 7 and 8, BBAR manages the Town Hall Education
Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC). Wards 7 and 8 are home to one of the most
vulnerable populations in Washington D.C., with nearly half of the children
living below the federal poverty line. Through a collaboration of ten nonprofit
partner organizations, THEARC provides high-quality educational, health, cultural,
recreational and social service programs designed to revitalize the community
and help at-risk youth. THEARC enables local kids to participate in dance
classes, music instruction, fine arts, and academic activities. In addition,
THEARC provides residents medical, dental, and psychiatric and psychological
care at substantially reduced cost or no cost. The support through Neighborhood
Builders will help BBAR expand its operating capacity to focus on at-risk youth
and provide food and nutrition and workforce development programming to the
community.
LCNV teaches adults the
basic skills of reading, writing, speaking and understanding English,
empowering them to participate more fully in the community.
Thirty-eight percent of
Fairfax County residents speak a language other than English in their homes. Of
those speaking a different language, 40 percent report they do not speak
English “very well.” As the demographics in Northern Virginia have shifted, LCNV
has evolved from its origins as a literacy program for native speakers to a
multi-faceted organization serving low-income immigrants with limited English
proficiency. LCNV provides language- and literacy-based life and work skills for
the beginning level ‘English for speakers of other languages’ (ESOL) learner in
topics that present introductory skills in computer, financial and health
literacy.
LCNV will use the Neighborhood
Builders leadership training and unrestricted funding to develop an innovative
new program model for beginning-level ESOL adult learners similar to the
community college system, albeit at a much lower academic level. This will include
fast-track courses that target skill development, teaching small group cohorts and
providing mini-credentials to facilitate entry and advancement in the
workplace.
Neighborhood
Builders is currently marking its tenth year as the largest investment in nonprofit
leadership development and organizational longevity. Through Neighborhood
Builders, Bank of America has invested $160 million in 800 nonprofit
organizations and provided training to 1,600 nonprofit leaders. Neighborhood
Builders furthers the company’s broader philanthropic commitment to addressing
core issues that are critical to the economic vitality of local economies, with
a particular focus on low-and-moderate-income communities.
Organizations selected as
Neighborhood Builders are recognized for their significant impact in addressing
needs related to community development, basic human services or workforce
development and education. The flexible funding allows nonprofits to build
capacity. At the same time, leaders of the organizations learn about issues
core to nonprofit sustainability through the Neighborhood Builders leadership
training.
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