SAFE Credit Union Awards Nonprofit $20,000 to Help Homeless Women Get Jobs

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Jul 30, 2024, 11:57 ET

FOLSOM, Calif., July 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Demonstrating its commitment to supporting individuals overcoming trauma or experiencing homelessness, SAFE Credit Union is providing $20,000 to the Saint John's Program for Real Change employee training program to help women in crisis gain essential skills they need for long-term success.

"We are honored to support Saint John's mission to support women who are experiencing homelessness with resources like their employment training program," says SAFE Credit Union Vice President of Community Relations and Financial Education Rebecca Delmundo. "Nearly 72 percent of the families who Saint John's serves do not hold a high school diploma and especially benefit from the program."

Saint John's provides employment training for women experiencing homelessness in the Greater Sacramento region as part of its residential program that provides comprehensive support services that includes mental, physical, interpersonal, and vocational assessments, followed by education, hands-on employment training and career exploration. The employment training program is ongoing, with at least 100 women each receiving up to 400 hours of employment training a year through Saint John's social enterprises.

SAFE's grant will help cover recent challenges Saint John's has faced from ongoing impacts from the COVID pandemic to the loss of an industrial kitchen provided in-kind for many years. In 2023, Saint John's moved its social enterprise operations onto its main campus, requiring the transformation of the existing kitchen into an industrial kitchen. This effort is ongoing as funding allows.

"Saint John's Program for Real Change expresses deep gratitude for SAFE Credit Union's generous support of our workforce training program. This crucial partnership empowers women experiencing homelessness by equipping them with essential skills for employment, enabling them to gain financial independence and transforming their lives," says Shahnaz Van Deventer, Chief Philanthropy and Marketing Officer at Saint John's Program for Real Change.

From this grant, Saint John's anticipates the following outcomes:

100 women will receive comprehensive workforce training.
40 will complete 250 hours of intensive employment training.
30 will secure full-time employment opportunities.
18 will maintain employment for at least 12 months.

About SAFE

SAFE Credit Union is a not-for-profit, state-chartered credit union in Northern California with over $4.6 billion in assets and more than 236,000 members. Insured by NCUA

SOURCE SAFE Credit Union