JLo Set For First Hometown Gig As Part Of State Farm Neighborhood Sessions™

NEW YORK, June 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of LISC NYC's continuing commitment to the communities in the Bronx, it has teamed with State Farm to support Jennifer Lopez's June 4^th performance at Orchard Beach in Pelham Park. The concert is the first in a series of State Farm Neighborhood Sessions that allows musical artists to say "thank you" to fans and to highlight and celebrate community organizations.

"We have a proud history of working together with LISC in the Bronx community," said Kellie Clapper, assistant vice president, enterprise philanthropy at State Farm. "State Farm Neighborhood Sessions is an exciting way to bring the Bronx neighborhood together to celebrate the organizations and people that make it unique."

LISC is proud to celebrate its partnership with State Farm at the inaugural Neighborhood Sessions in the Bronx. State Farm and LISC have a long history of collaboration across the country. Over the past 14 years, State Farm has invested nearly $114 million in grants, loans and equity in LISC's work to make underserved neighborhoods better places to live.  Through LISC, State Farm has supported more than 22,300 homes that are affordable to low-income families and 11 million square feet of commercial, retail and community space in underserved areas.  In New York City specifically, State Farm has invested more than $1 million in grant funding to provide energy efficiency and water retrofits and neighborhood greening efforts, leveraging more than $62 million in additional investment to create 389,000 square feet of commercial, retail and community space and 1,400 affordable apartments.

LISC has long drawn both inspiration and practical lessons from the experience of the Comprehensive Community Revitalization Program (CCRP) in the South Bronx, now widely recognized as a path-breaking community building program. Some of LISC's earliest grants supported the Mid-Bronx Desperadoes Community Housing Corporation (MBD), a community-based organization that shares LISC's core philosophies around community revitalization and affordable housing, which has catalyzed, and continues to drive, revitalization in the Bronx. At the concert on June 4th, LISC will celebrate its current work in the Bronx with a healthy cooking demonstration and sampling. LISC is working with New Settlement Apartments in the Mt. Eden section of the Bronx to increase access to affordable healthy food, and it also supports the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing (WSFSSH) as it integrates cost-effective, green and healthy interventions throughout the WSFSSH affordable housing portfolio.

"LISC has a storied history in the Bronx.  In the early 1980's, we made some of our earliest grants there and our efforts informed our growth into a national organization focused on improving quality of life through redevelopment, with local organizations and residents making the decisions that matter for their families and their communities," said Denise Scott, executive vice president for programs at LISC. "We are proud to celebrate all the good works currently underway in the Bronx with our essential partner, State Farm." 

Premier Partner Zone tickets for the concert are still available, with a portion of the proceeds going to LISC to support ongoing investments in low-income communities. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. on the day of the event. A variety of games, concessions, and other activities will be available throughout the park for the whole family to enjoy. Jennifer Lopez will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. for a 90-minute performance.

For more information, visit the State Farm Neighborhood Sessions page: www.sfneighborhoodsessions.com.

About State Farm®

State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 18,000 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 44 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.

About LISC New York City

LISC New York City is dedicated to helping low-income New York City neighborhoods become healthy communities of choice – good places to live, do business, work and raise families. LISC has more than 30 years of experience developing the infrastructure of community-based organizations by providing technical and financial assistance; building capacity of local institutions to respond to changing community needs; sharing best practices to maximize precious resources; and brokering collaboration among its vast network of partners—government, nonprofit, and corporate—to tackle issues on the community level. Since 1980, LISC New York City has invested approximately $2.0 billion in more than 75 New York City community development corporations (CDCs) and other local groups. With our support, these organizations have developed over 33,000 affordable homes and apartments and more than 2 million square feet of commercial space. For more, visit www.lisc.org/nyc/

Contact
Nick Charles, Director of Communications
(212) 455-9307 / [email protected]

SOURCE LISC