INSPIRATIONAL PARTNERS DEMONSTRATE PROGRESS TACKLING POVERTY AMID THE PANDEMIC
UNFCU Foundation today named eight organizations the recipients of its 2021 grants. Each positively changed the trajectories of marginalized communities in Africa and the United States in 2020. Such momentum furthers the Foundation’s mission to sustain the path out of poverty through healthcare and education for women and children. It also supports several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with no poverty being the number one goal.
“With innovative programs and determination, our partners are reducing socio-economic inequalities for some of the most vulnerable members of society,” said Yma Gordon-Reid, executive director of the UNFCU Foundation. “We commend grantees pushing through pandemic challenges and look forward to more empowerment gains for women and youth this year.”
“Access to education, and securing good health and well-being are enabling program-participants to lift themselves from poverty,” said Pamela Agnone, chairperson of the UNFCU Foundation. “The resolve of our partners and the successful outcomes of their clients would not be possible without their extraordinary work. Dedicated educators, healthcare workers, and administrators have made these programs transformational.”
“We are grateful for the generous, ongoing support of the UNFCU Foundation in partnership with the Francine A. LeFrak Foundation,” said Christine Quinn, president & CEO of Win (Women in Need). “This funding over the past two years has allowed us to provide critical job training and computer skills to more than 100 mothers experiencing homelessness in New York City. Participation in the Income Building Program has helped women secure jobs and permanent homes for their families.”
In addition to Win, the organizations and objectives of the projects supported by the UNFCU Foundation in 2021 are:
- The BOMA Project: enroll ultra-poor women living in Northern Kenya in a two-year program that includes financial, life skills, and business training
- The Floating Hospital: support its Behavioral Health Program for women and girls in New York City
- International Rescue Committee (IRC): further employability services for women, a subset of IRC’s broader Economic Empowerment Program in Maryland
- Kilimanjaro Initiative (KI): empower youth in Kibera, Nairobi through leadership and sports programs
- MindLeaps: use leadership training and dance to encourage children in Ugandan refugee settlements to succeed in school and in life
- Together We Bake: provide women in the Washington, DC area with livelihood training and hands-on experience in the food industry
- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): provide livelihood training to obstetric fistula survivors in Nigeria
