Operation HOPE, SunTrust Bank and Chick-fil-A launched a partnership to bring credit and money management coaching to residents of the Westside, Vine City community. Offered at no cost to participants, the program includes an Operation HOPE financial wellbeing coach providing workshops and one-on-one coaching to participants. The first of these community empowerment events was held in a workshop held on June 7 in the community conference room at the Chick-fil-A located in the Historic Westside Village. Workshop participants were taught the basics of making a budget, reading a credit report, and how to address credit errors.
Leaders of the three organizations hosted a pre-workshop meet and greet session with community residents. The Credit and Money Management Program, a core focus of the award-winning HOPE Inside financial empowerment model developed by Operation HOPE, is designed to transform disabling financial mindsets—teaching people the language of money, how to navigate credit, and make better decisions with the money they have. Programming in the community will be expanded to include small business development and homeownership coaching in the coming months.
As coincidence would have it, Quincy Springs, the operator of the Chick-fil-A restaurant, is a graduate of the Operation HOPE Small Business Development Program offered at over 100 HOPE Inside locations across the nation, including three in Atlanta.
SunTrust, a pioneer in offering HOPE Inside in its branches currently sponsors financial wellbeing coaches in 17 HOPE Inside branch locations throughout Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, with a commitment for a total of 200 locations by 2020. The sponsorship is part of the company’s onUp movement to advance financial confidence across America.
The launch event included John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Operation HOPE, Dr. Anita Ward, President of Operation HOPE, Lance Triggs, Executive Vice President and President of the HOPE Office of Program Operations, Vivien Rayam, Regional Vice President – Southeast, Operation HOPE, Quincy Springs, Restaurant Owner-Operator, Chick-fil-A, and executives from SunTrust Banks.
The new satellite HOPE Inside SunTrust location is located at Chick-fil-A, in the Historic Westside Village, located at 875 MLK Jr. Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30313.
Find this and other HOPE Inside locations here.