Truist Foundation grants STRIVE $1M to launch career training program in Birmingham

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Aug 24, 2023, 09:00 ET

New location will provide career readiness training to individuals who face significant barriers to employment

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Aug. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Truist Foundation announced a $1 million grant to STRIVE, a national nonprofit that provides free job training and wraparound career support services for people facing barriers to quality employment. Truist Foundation's support will help STRIVE establish a new site in Birmingham, Alabama, bringing increased access to economic empowerment and mobility to the residents of Magic City most disconnected from career building opportunities.

STRIVE celebrated a $1 million donation from Truist Foundation during a ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, which included inspirational remarks from Shakita Rivers (left), a student in the STRIVE Birmingham pilot cohort, which will graduate from STRIVE’s career readiness training program later this week. (Also pictured, L-R: STRIVE Birmingham Executive Director Quiwintre Frye, STRIVE CEO Phil Weinberg and Jared Weinstein, Former Partner/COO/Co-Founder, Thrive Capital.)

(L-R) Truist Foundation President Lynette Bell, Truist Chief Teammate Officer and Head of Enterprise Diversity Kim Moore-Wright and Truist Alabama Regional President Burton McDonald share career advice with STRIVE Birmingham students prior to announcing a $1 million grant from Truist Foundation to help fuel STRIVE’s growth plan on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Birmingham, Alabama.

STRIVE Birmingham has just completed a pilot of its training program preparing students for careers in nonclinical healthcare and office operations and will begin its first full cohort in September 2023. Over time, STRIVE Birmingham expects to serve 100 students annually with onramps to good jobs that help lead to family-sustaining careers.

"This funding will have a phenomenal impact on our local economy and the lives of Birmingham residents, especially in the Black community," said Quiwintre Frye, executive director at STRIVE Birmingham. "Barriers to mobility have left many of our families disproportionately stuck in the cycle of generational poverty, and many struggle to see a way out. But STRIVE opens doors for people and shows them what is possible despite the obstacles. We are deeply proud to receive this investment and heartened to know that we have so much support to make real change for good in Birmingham."

STRIVE's five-pillar model of success includes career readiness, occupational skills, career coaching, job placement assistance and lifetime access to wraparound support services. In addition to job training and certifications, STRIVE connects students to secure housing, childcare and transportation—common factors that pose barriers to employment. Lifetime services for STRIVE graduates also include alumni support groups and workshops and one-on-one check-ins with a dedicated career coach.

"Truist Foundation aims to fulfill Truist's purpose of inspiring and building better lives and communities, which often begins with helping build pathways to steady employment and financial independence," said Lynette Bell, president of Truist Foundation. "We believe we can help communities achieve this through increasing access to training, creating professional networks and breaking barriers to employment, especially for those in historically excluded communities, and that is exactly the type of work STRIVE seeks to do in Birmingham and beyond."

Yesterday, Frye and Bell were joined by STRIVE CEO Phil Weinberg, Truist Financial Chief Teammate Officer and Head of Enterprise Diversity Kim Moore-Wright and Truist Financial Alabama Regional President Burton McDonald to formally announce the grant and the impact it will have in Birmingham.

"We've just announced our new Growth Plan, which involves significant expansion of our national impact over the course of the next decade," said Weinberg. "Our vision is ambitious in terms of both the new cities we will be engaging and the individuals we will be serving annually, with an increased focus on justice-impacted populations. This well-timed grant has arrived during an historic and exciting time for STRIVE and will be a tremendous support as we amplify the STRIVE impact right here in Birmingham, in Atlanta, and next year, New Orleans."

STRIVE currently operates in 14 cities across the U.S., including recently announced New Orleans, which is currently scheduled to open in 2024. STRIVE Birmingham is the first site the organization has developed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Leveraging new knowledge and insights from this expansion process, STRIVE will work to continue advancing growth in other new cities and its existing locations, with an ambitious growth plan to scale its nationwide programs and services over the next decade to expand from serving 2,000 people annually in 2023, to 10,000 people annually by 2033.

About STRIVE
STRIVE (https://strive.org/) is a national workforce development leader that for nearly 40 years has successfully provided services to populations facing significant employment barriers. STRIVE's proven program model moves students into careers that lead to upward mobility and economic empowerment. Headquartered in East Harlem, New York and with operations in 14 locations, STRIVE has helped more than 85,000 individuals prepare for career success through employment programs geared toward adults, young adults, and those with involvement in the justice system.

About Truist Foundation
Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation's grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at Truist.com/Foundation.

SOURCE Truist Foundation