Operation_HOPE_Logo_(New)LOS ANGELES – (Business Wire) Operation HOPE, Inc. (HOPE) announced a continued partnership with Premiere Radio Networks (PRN), a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, during a panel at The 2009 Milken Institute Global Conference led by the nonprofit’s Founder and CEO, John Hope Bryant, and featuring PRN President, Charlie Rahilly.

The multi-million dollar commitment focuses on three key HOPE programs and is a part of PRN’s dedication to good corporate citizenship. Through a series of 30 and 60-second public service announcements, HOPE will bring awareness to Banking On Our Future, its award-winning youth financial literacy program; 5 MILLION KIDS, its initiative to quell the drop-out rate; as well as its toll-free services for foreclosure and credit assistance. The PSA’s will also include a series of financial literacy tips for consumers, as recommended by the President’s Council on Financial Literacy. PRN has provided media support for HOPE’s messages of help, hope and inspiration since 2004.

“Financial illiteracy is a major issue that affects individuals, but it also affects our national economy. Nearly 80% of our nation’s economy rests on the back of consumers, and at a time when personal debt and bankruptcy are at all time highs, financial literacy is at the center of a healthy and stable economy,” said John Hope Bryant, HOPE founder, chairman and chief financial officer. “We are proud to have Premiere Radio Networks as a partner who realizes the importance of financial literacy and hope that this partnership serves as a rallying point and challenge for other media industries to match.” 

“Premiere Radio Networks is proud to partner with an organization such as Operation HOPE that can effectively change the lives of people, as well as our nation, in such a profound way,” commented Rahilly. “Financial literacy is the key to empowerment for many Americans, so we’re honored to continue raising awareness about Operation HOPE and its programs, and encourage other leaders to join us in this effort.”

The 2009 Milken Institute Global Conference drew some 3,000 leaders from the worlds of business and finance, philanthropy, government, health care, education and news media sessions to focus on the financial crisis and the global economy. Bryant and Rahilly were selected as business leaders from the world’s top-tier companies to discuss, debate, and deliberate on a panel titled, Financial Literacy: An Issue of American Competitiveness. Additional distinguished panelists included Sean Cleary, Chairman, Strategic Concepts (Pty) Ltd.; Richard Hartnack, Vice Chairman, U.S. Bancorp; David S. Simon, Executive Vice President, Citigroup Inc.; and Beverly Daniel Tatum, President, Spelman College.

Since 1992, HOPE has been putting financial literacy at the forefront of the national agenda. It was HOPE's advocacy that inspired financial literacy to become a part of U.S. federal policy, as well as the subsequent creation of the non-partisan U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy. John Bryant was appointed vice chair to the non-partisan committee in 2008, and will serve President Barack Obama until 2010. Through a series of collaborations with corporations, community leaders, and government agencies, HOPE is able to provide its programs at no, to low-cost to its clients; without the continued financial and in-kind support, these valuable services would not be possible.

About Premiere Radio Networks, Inc.

Premiere Radio Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, syndicates 90 radio programs and services to more than 5,000 radio affiliations and reaches over 190 million listeners weekly. Premiere Radio is the number one radio network in the country and features the following personalities: Rush Limbaugh, Jim Rome, Casey Kasem, Ryan Seacrest, Glenn Beck, Bob & Tom, Delilah, Steve Harvey, Blair Garner, George Noory, John Boy and Billy, Big Tigger, Dr. Dean Edell, Sean Hannity and others. Premiere is based in Sherman Oaks, California, with 13 offices nationwide.

About Operation HOPE, Inc.

Operation HOPE is America's leading nonprofit social investment banking and financial literacy empowerment organization. With more than 400 private sector partners, 1500 nonprofit organizations and schools, and 100 government partners in 68 major U.S. cities as well as South Africa, HOPE has raised more than $500 million in its pursuit of educating, assisting and inspiring the next generation of global stakeholders. Through international initiatives and its three principal programs, Banking on Our Future (teaching school children about money), HOPE Coalition America (Mortgage HOPE Crisis Hotline, 1-888-388-HOPE, financial emergency preparedness and disaster relief), and Walk-In HOPE Centers (loans, bill pay, computer literacy, understanding banking principles), Operation HOPE has delivered services to more than one million low-wealth individuals and assumed the responsibility of piloting the Silver Rights Movement towards making free enterprise and capitalism relevant to all underserved communities. To learn more about HOPE, visit www.operationhope.org. or read our blog at www.operationhope.org/blog.

Pin It on Pinterest