Quicken Loans Partners with Urban Alliance to Bring Flagship Youth Employment Program to Detroit

DETROIT, Oct. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Urban Alliance (UA), a national youth development nonprofit organization, brought its flagship youth employment model to Detroit with support from the Quicken Loans Family of Companies, who will serve as the program's anchor employer in the city. UA's High School Internship Program (HSIP) will help expand opportunity for students from underserved communities through intensive professional development and meaningful work experience in students' senior year of high school.

Beginning with a pilot group of 40 students from Breithaupt Career and Technical Center, Osborn High School and Randolph Career and Technical Center during the 2018-19 school year, UA will provide Detroit students with:

• A 10-month paid, professional internship (part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer)
• Intensive job and life skills training (seven weeks of pre-employment training followed by 10-months of weekly skill-building workshops)
• One-on-one mentoring from an adult professional
• Post-high school planning assistance
• Lifelong college and career support

Urban Alliance is expected to expand to additional schools, serving more than 250 students over the next four years. The program's goal is to open the door to new possibilities for Detroit students, and ensure that every intern is on a pathway to self-sufficiency – whether that be college, living-wage employment or vocational training – after graduating high school.

The Quicken Loans Community Fund (QLCF) is supporting UA's expansion to Detroit and the ability to help in the professional development of Detroit students. Along with QLCF's financial support, the Quicken Loans Family of Companies will host 30 interns annually over the next two years across its Family of Companies, serving as UA's anchor employer in the city. UA's long-time partner Bank of America will also host an additional five interns per year, with another five interns per year placed at local nonprofits.

"At Urban Alliance, we believe that it truly takes a village to build brighter futures for our youth, so we are honored to be joining the Detroit community and helping to expand economic opportunities for young people in the city," said Eshauna Smith, CEO of Urban Alliance. "Our primary goal is always to provide meaningful youth employment opportunities for as many young people who need them as possible, and the local support we've received – particularly from our anchor employer Quicken Loans Family of Companies – helps us reach that goal. We look forward to working with the entire community to open more doors for the talented young people of this city."

Through its 'for-more-than-profit model', QLCF brings together for-profit and non-profit investments in order to maximize its impact on Detroit. The Quicken Loans Family of Companies is the largest employer in Detroit, and QLCF is dedicated to creating robust job training and education opportunities that will lead to real jobs in IT, construction and customer service. QLCF is also deeply invested alongside Detroit Public Schools Community District and numerous community partners in order to build meaningful mentorship experiences, career technical education opportunities, and on-the-job-training. QLCF has previously engaged two of the three schools that Urban Alliance is partnering with.

Earlier this year, QLCF committed $1 million to Detroit high school Breithaupt Career and Technical Center to improve infrastructure, expand programming and boost enrollment.

In addition, last year QLCF joined the Mayor's office to also revitalize Randolph Career and Technical Center.

"Investing in our future workforce – and Detroit students -- is important from both a business and philanthropic standpoint at the Quicken Loans Family of Companies. Youth employment strategies strengthen our business and city," said Bill Emerson, Vice Chairman of Quicken Loans Community Fund. "At Quicken Loans and our family of companies, we are committed to introducing young people to multiple opportunities and experiences which will ultimately shape their life goals, grow their options and help prepare them to become Detroit's future leaders."

With more than 20 years of experience providing workforce opportunities to thousands of economically-disadvantaged students in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Northern Virginia, UA has improved post-high school outcomes for underserved youth. A recent six-year study found that completing UA's High School Internship Program had a measurable impact on young men attending college, mid-GPA students enrolling in four-year colleges, and students' retention of professional soft skills.

100 percent of UA students graduate from high school; over 90 percent are accepted to college. A further 80 percent of enrolled alumni persist to a second year in college, and 80 percent of all alumni are connected to a college, career, or career training pathway one year post-program. Over 80 percent of Urban Alliance alumni enroll in college, compared to 61 percent of Detroit Public Schools Community District graduates.

About Quicken Loans Community Fund

The Quicken Loans Community Fund operates under a "for-more-than-profit" philosophy that recognizes that business and community are inextricably linked. This model brings together all of the assets of the Quicken Loans business – team member talent, technology, policy advocacy, and philanthropic resources – to invest in comprehensive community development across Detroit, Cleveland, Charlotte and Phoenix. Over the course of 2018 alone, the Quicken Loans Community Fund has invested in tax foreclosure prevention that has kept tens of thousands of Detroit residents in their home, served over 1,000 Detroit-based entrepreneurs, invested in career technical education and curriculum development that will support students city-wide in building successful careers, and built 47,000 square feet of new public spaces. The work of the Quicken Loans Community Fund is powered by the 30,000 team members that work for the Quicken Loans Family of Companies nation-wide.

For more information, visit quickenloans.org or see our For-More-Than-Profit booklet here.

About Quicken Loans

Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation's largest home mortgage lender. The company closed more than $400 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states from 2013 through 2017. Quicken Loans moved its headquarters to downtown Detroit in 2010. Today, Quicken Loans and its Family of Companies employ more than 17,000 full-time team members in Detroit's urban core. The company generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Phoenix. Quicken Loans also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked highest in the country for customer satisfaction for primary mortgage origination by J.D. Power for the past eight consecutive years, 2010 – 2017, and also ranked highest in the country for customer satisfaction among all mortgage servicers the past five consecutive years, 2014 – 2018.

Quicken Loans was once again named to FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list in 2018 and has been included in the magazine's top 1/3rd of companies named to the list for the past 15 consecutive years. In addition, Essence Magazine named Quicken Loans "#1 Place to Work in the Country for African Americans."

For more information and company news visit QuickenLoans.com/press-room.

SOURCE Quicken Loans

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