The Brotherhood Crusade, a nonprofit providing human and social services ranging from shelter to job readiness programs to more than 25,000 underserved youth and families in South Los Angeles annually, has been named a 2017 Neighborhood Builder from Bank of America. This distinguished honor awards high impact nonprofits with a $200,000 grant over two years, leadership development resources, a network of peer organizations across the country and the opportunity to access capital to help Brotherhood Crusade scale its services serving the youth of South Los Angeles.
“Bank of America is a longtime partner and supporter of the work that Brotherhood Crusade does. As we approach our 50th year of service, this profound investment in our mission gives us even greater hope that we can make a resounding impact in the communities we serve,” said Charisse Bremond Weaver, Brotherhood Crusade CEO. “The Neighborhood Builder award is a definitive example for our kids and young people that we believe in them and that we will stand with them to create equity and equality, so that they can be their best selves and bring their best contributions to our collective quality of life in this country.”
Several Brotherhood Crusade programs geared towards building equity and equality for South Los Angeles youth of color will benefit from this funding including:
Youth Source Center – increases educational and career-based mentoring opportunities by aligning youth (ages 14-21) with committed mentors, re-engaging them in school, developing their vocational life and social skills, improving their academic skills, engaging them in work experience volunteerism and internships, and eventually helping them secure employment;
Jr. Executive Leadership Program – prepares teens for work readiness, career development, and entrepreneurship through hands-on experiences and vocational life skills development;
BLOOM (Building a Lifetime of Options and Opportunities for Men) – designed to improve educational and employment opportunities for black males aged 14-18 years who are, or have been, involved in the county probation system;
BOA/BHC Neighborhood Builders Award
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Soccer for Success – A free after-school program for youth ages 5-18 which offers soccer instruction with an emphasis on social skills, health, and nutrition education, and mentoring. The program aims at engaging children in a minimum of 200 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week.
“We are thrilled to recognize Brotherhood Crusade with a Neighborhood Builder award to scale and expand the incredible work they do to create opportunities for underserved youth in South Los Angeles,” said Raul A. Anaya, Bank of America Market President, greater Los Angeles. “We share a vision to help make lives better by putting people on the path to economic success. By addressing the need for mentoring, tutoring and career guidance, Brotherhood Crusade gives disadvantaged young people an opportunity to achieve their goals and inspire others to make their own communities stronger.”
The Neighborhood Builders grant will also help fund key community events put on by Brotherhood Crusade in 2018, including:
Thanksgiving and Christmas Giveaway and Health Festivals – thousands of families served each year;
Annual Back to School Event and Health Festival – students provided with school supplies and health screenings for school enrollment.
Since 2004, Bank of America has presented the Neighborhood Builder award to nearly 1,000 nonprofits nationally totaling more than $220 million in grant awards and helping nearly 2,000 nonprofit leaders to strengthen their leadership skills. The program has enabled nonprofits to create greater impact in their communities, scale for strategic growth, and better prepare for the future by providing the tools and resources to develop stronger strategic plans and enhance funding opportunities.
Since 2004, Bank of America has partnered with nearly 1,000 nonprofits and helped nearly 2,000 nonprofit leaders to strengthen their leadership skills by investing more than $220 million in communities. The program has enabled nonprofits to create greater impact in their communities, scale for strategic growth, and better prepare for the future by providing the tools and resources to develop stronger strategic plans and enhance funding opportunities.
