Historic Black church joins Operation HOPE’s 1 Million Black Businesses Initiative (1MBB) and makes partnership pledge during National Financial Literacy Month
ATLANTA (April 27, 2023) – In partnership with Operation HOPE, Reid Community Development Corporation and Reid Temple AME Church hosted its “Faith-Based Small Business Summit” on April 21, 2023. More than 100 entrepreneurs from the Christian Business Network as well as other aspiring entrepreneurs from Prince George’s County attended. The Summit included a roundtable discussion followed by a “Coalition of the Willing” pledge to create 900 new businesses by 2030 as part of Operation HOPE’s groundbreaking 1 Million Black Businesses Initiative (1MBB).
Roundtable participants included:
- John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Operation HOPE
- Jonathan Butler, Director, Office of Central Services for Prince George’s County
- Senator Ben Cardin, Senior US senator for Maryland
- Mark A. Lawrence, Founder of Inncuvate
- B. Doyle Mitchell, President & CEO, of Industrial Bank
- Rev. Dr. Mark E. Whitlock, Jr., Pastor Reid Temple AME Church (Panel Narrator)
The summit convened a diverse mix of entrepreneurs to discuss a collective plan for business success. The agenda included how to gain access to education, funding and other resources needed to start, grow and scale a business, participants were able to network and collaborate with industry leaders and the 1MBB network. During the event, Bryant also noted the significance of the Freedman’s Savings Bank, which was created in 1865 to provide access to capital for newly freed Black Americans following the US Civil War.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support of Reid CDC, which has a longstanding history of advocating for economic empowerment,” said John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE. “Pastor Whitlock and the Reid family are living examples of the saying, ‘Give and it will be given to you.’ Our 1MBB partnership will make a significant impact on the community and help uplift all who are engaged in this effort.”
“After many years of prayer, negotiating and fundraising, we are blessed to see the fruits of our labor at this Faith-based Business Summit. We believe that Operation HOPE is the right partner to achieve our goals,” said Reverend Dr. Mark Whitlock, Reid AME. “We want our community to thrive and, by collaborating with HOPE and the 1MBB team, we remain committed to providing access to the right tools and resources that ensure financial empowerment for all.”
“Our commitment has only grown stronger through the years,” said B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr., President/CEO of Industrial Bank. “We stand poised to bring our unwavering commitment of delivering products and services that educate and help to build generational wealth to the communities we serve.”
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About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for everyone—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. Operation HOPE recently received its eighth consecutive 4-star charity rating for fiscal management and commitment to transparency and accountability by the prestigious non-profit evaluator, Charity Navigator. For more information: OperationHOPE.org. Join the conversation on social media at @operationHOPE.
About Reid CDC
Reid CDC is a faith-based social entrepreneurship and economic development corporation that serves Prince Georges County and the surrounding metropolitan area. Established in 1994, the 501c (3) has provided training and development services for business owners and the local workforce at the grassroots level for more than 18 years. Reid CDC was birthed from the vision of Reid Temple A.M.E. Church’s Pastor, The Rev. Dr. Lee P. Washington, for an empowered At-Large Church and his passion for the people of God to live holistic prosperous lives.
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Media Contact:
Lalohni Campbell, for Operation HOPE
404-593-7145