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Announcement made to support Haiti from World Economic Forum

Davos, Switzerland – January 28, 2010 -  John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE (HOPE), as well as a Young Global Leader, announced today at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland his organization's response to the crisis in Haiti. Operation HOPE's Global Initiatives have made this commitment in conjunction with the Clinton Global Initiative's (CGI) call for action in Haiti.

Recognizing that the survivors in Haiti are going to need support from the world community in years to come, Bryant has committed his financial literacy nonprofit to extend a hand to the people of Haiti by opening an Operation HOPE Haiti office, which will be the first of its kind in the region. A location will be open as soon as a building is available and local staff can be hired and trained. Services that will be provided in the Haitian capital include:

For youth:

  • Financial Literacy
    • A Course in Dignity.
    • Banking on Our Future teaching "the language of money" and the value of savings to youth ages 9-18.
    • These classes will be conducted by HOPE employees and HOPE Corps volunteers wherever youth can be assembled.
  • Financial capability.
    • A bank account for children.
  • Financial empowerment.
    • Entrepreneurship, self-help, small business and a focus on cultivating "self-employment projects."

For adults:

  • Jobs Search and on the Job Training opportunities for local residents
  • Self Employment, Small Business Development and personal wealth building through asset ownership (such as homeownership, etc).
  • Converting the unbanked to the utilization of Haitian banks and financial service providers
  • Facilitating Micro-Finance and Small Business Loan access to individuals and businesses

"It is my commitment through Operation HOPE to open a financial literacy and community outreach office in the Haitian capital," said Bryant from the World Economic Forum in Davos. "It is our commitment to support the people of Haiti in teaching them the language of money and offering them practical support not only now but in the coming years."

As a part of the Operation HOPE plan, the nonprofit is extending its services to reach Haitians families located and dispersed throughout the United States. Through their offices in Los Angeles, Washington DC, and New York, HOPE expects to provide support by teaching "the language of money" and helping Haitians and Haitian-Americans become self-suffient .

Operation HOPE's commitment to Haiti was inspired by President Bill Clinton (who Bryant met with during his current participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos), World Economic Forum Chairman Klaus Schwab, and the Young Global Leader community at large.

After Hurricane Katrina, Operation HOPE opened several recovery and relief offices throughout the Gulf States and still currently operates an office in New Orleans. Through their efforts, Operation HOPE helped over 130,000 individuals and small businesses in the Gulf States recover from the disaster. HOPE's recent commitment to Haiti is another example of their "silver rights" mission to empower the underserved.

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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, 3500 nonprofit organizations and schools, and 100 government partners in 69 major U.S. cities and seven provinces South Africa, HOPE has raised more than $500 million in its pursuit of educating, assisting and inspiring the next generation of global stakeholders in financial literacy, economic empowerment and silver rights. Through international initiatives and its 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), Walk-In HOPE Centers (loans, bill pay, computer literacy, understanding banking principles), and our 10,000 strong volunteer HOPE Corps, Operation HOPE has delivered services to more than one million low-wealth individuals and assumed the responsibil ity of piloting the Silver Rights Movement towards making free enterprise and capitalism relevant to all underserved communities. Senior aide to Dr. King in the civil rights movement, Ambassador Andrew Young, serves as global spokesman for Operation HOPE, and icons Quincy Jones and Ambassador Andrew Young co-chair 5MK (5 MILLLION KIDS), aimed at breaking the cycle of the high-school dropout epidemic in America. To learn more about HOPE, visit www.operationhope.org and www.5MK.org, or read our blog at www.operationhope.org/blog.

About John Hope Bryant
Born February 6, 1966 John Bryant is an American financial literacy and poverty eradication activist, and "silver rights" entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Operation HOPE, America's first non-profit social investment banking organization, a leading self-help provider of economic empowerment tools and services for the underserved. His work to empower low-wealth communities has earned him a role as the Vice Chair of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy and the Chairman of the Council's Under-Served Committee. Bryant is author of the new bestselling book LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World. To learn more about him visit www.operationhope.org or follow John Hope Bryant on Twitter at http://twitter.com/johnhopebryant.

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