LOS ANGELES – June 12, 2014 – Today, Operation HOPE announced a partnership with OneWest Bank for the Project 5117 initiative program HOPE Inside. Onewest Bank committed $100,000 for the next two years to provide financial counseling services in select branches throughout Northridge, California. 

HOPE Inside offices provide financial literacy counselors to deliver workshops and one-on-one client support at branch locations. The program is designed to teach the community and bank customers about building personal wealth and assets through pragrams, such as, Credit Management, Homeownership Program and Small Business Development. HOPE Inside features a dedicated certified counselor who provides and coordinates a selected range of empowerment programs. All services are offered free of charge and available to the general public.

“Operation HOPE applauds OneWest Bank for joining us in supporting financial literacy and dignity. Project 5117, is our roadmap to achieve our mission to empower underserved communities,” said Lance Triggs Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles and Division President, HOPE Centers for Operation HOPE. “We value our partnership with OneWest Bank and we are pleased that they share our passion for promoting strong financial education programs for the community. We look forward to making these important services available through HOPE Inside offices in the Northridge area.

Supported by a national alliance with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and with the ongoing support of the American Bankers Association and Protective Life, Project 5117 picks up where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr left off, more than 50 years ago. Led by co-chairs Dr. Bernice King, Ambassador Andrew Young and John Hope Bryant, the initiative seeks to make a measurable difference in youth and adult financial empowerment nationwide. By year 2020, Project 5117 plans to move credit scores in underserved communities above 700 through training offered at HOPE Inside locations, and encourage youth entrepreneurship in schools through a comprehensive training course, HOPE Business In A Box.

Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from Civil Rights to Silver Rights by providing financial and economic empowerment tools and services, earning it the distinction as the nonprofit private banker for the working poor. 

About Operation HOPE

For more than 22 years,, HOPE, a global nonprofit focused on financial dignity, has empowered more than 2 million individuals and directed more than $1.5 billion in private capital to America's low-wealth communities. It has recruited a growing army of 20,000 HOPE Corps volunteers, and helped raise average credit scores for financial case management clients more than 120 points over an average 18-month period. It currently serves more than 300 U.S. cities, as well as South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and most recently, the United Arab Emirates. Currently HOPE is focused on Project 5117, a multi-year initiative that will track and increase business role models for youth, boost credit scores for adults, and empower underserved communities, as a part of its “silver rights” mission to make free enterprise work for everyone. To learn more about Operation HOPE visit www.operationhope.org, follow our Twitter: @operationhope, and like us on Facebook: Operation HOPE. 

– See more at: http://www.operationhope.org/news/nid/1595#sthash.tXlP8C8V.dpuf

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