A revised version of the February 28th Washington Informer article appeared on March 22 after LIFT-DC hosted its welcome breakfast for community partners.
An abbreviated writeup and link also appeared in the Washington, D.C. blog Congress Heights on the Rise.
http://www.congressheightsontherise.com/2011/03/washington-informer-lift-dc-opens-at.html
LIFT-DC Opens at THEARC to Provide Social Services to Ward 8
Beginning February 21, local nonprofit LIFT-DC began operations at a new service center inside Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) in Ward 8. LIFT-DC will provide individualized, one-on-one social services to residents of surrounding neighborhoods.
LIFT-DC will operate on the second floor of the building and will initially meet with clients on Wednesdays and Fridays. LIFT-DC’s staff and volunteers will work with community members to provide assistance with employment and housing searches, public benefits enrollment, locating affordable healthcare and childcare, and a variety of other social services. Services are free and there are no eligibility requirements; all community members are encouraged to contact LIFT-DC. For more information and to make an appointment, please call LIFT-DC at or email [email protected].
LIFT-DC will augment the resources THEARC provides to the community and provide more convenient access to many current LIFT-DC clients, nearly half of whom already travel from Wards 7 and 8 to LIFT-DC’s locations in the Perry School Community Services Center in Northwest D.C. and at CentroNía/D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School in Columbia Heights.
LIFT-DC’s expansion east of the Anacostia River into THEARC is made possible by its signature partner Capital One. Capital One is committed to working with LIFT-DC to bring together community resources to expand economic opportunity for local families and revitalize surrounding communities. Capital One’s $50,000 investment to make LIFT’s services available to historically underserved D.C. residents in Wards 7 and 8 continues their commitment improving the lives of the residents of the nearby Oxon Run neighborhood. In addition, LIFT-DC will partner with Capital One’s associate engagement team to provide an array of financial education workshops and resources to clients at THEARC, as well as the wider community.
“Capital One Bank is proud to support the expansion of LIFT-DC to provide vital social services to the residents of Washington, D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8,” said Adam Ostrach, Washington, DC Market President for Capital One Bank and member of the THEARC’s Board of Directors. “Through partnerships with organizations like LIFT-DC and THEARC, Capital One Bank continues our work to bring more resources to local families and individuals and to help our communities grow and thrive.”
Capital One is joined in this effort by the Phillip L. Graham Fund, who will provide LIFT-DC with furniture and amenities to create a comfortable office environment for clients, as well as JPMorgan Chase, who will help LIFT explore school-based strategies as an access point to LIFT’s services for parents in this community.