Operation HOPE Announces Advisory Board for Recently-Launched Project 5117

Project 5117 Co-chairs, CEO of the King Center Dr. Bernice King, Civil Rights icon Ambassador Andrew Young and HOPE Founder John Hope Bryant announce new advisory board members and promote new online resource to help empower underserved communities

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At the recent Operation HOPE Global Financial Dignity Summit in Atlanta, HOPE founder, chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant announced Project 5117, a multi-year initiative that will track and increase business role models for youth, boost credit scores for adults, and empower underserved communities. Today, HOPE is announcing the advisory board and the online resource tool for Project 5117.

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Project 5117's advisory board, co-chaired by John Hope Bryant, Dr. Bernice King, CEO of the King Center, and Ambassador Andrew Young, chairman of the Andrew Young Foundation and HOPE Global Spokesman, is comprised of some of the nation's top business and financial leaders. Members include:

• Steve Bartlett, former president and CEO of the Financial Services Roundtable, Chairman of the HOPE Inside National Advisory Board, and member of the Project 5117 Advisory Board;
• Jim Clifton, chairman and CEO Gallup, Co-chair for America 2020 (A2020), and member of the Project 5117 Advisory Board;
• Quincy Jones, famed songwriter and entertainer, Co-chair of 5 Million Kids (5MK), and member of the Project 5117 Advisory Board;
• Natasha Foreman Bryant, Co-chair HOPE Business In A Box Academies Advisory Board, and member of the Project 5117 Advisory Board;
• Russell Simmons, humanitarian, entrepreneur and entertainment mogul, and member of the Project 5117 Advisory Board;
• Chaka Zulu, music executive and entrepreneur, and member of the Project 5117 Advisory Board.

The title, Project 5117, refers to the goals Operation HOPE plans to achieve through its programs and services by the year 2020. Through Project 5117, HOPE aims to:

• Encourage 5 million youth to stay in school through the "make smart cool" 5MK Initiative;
• Empower 1 million students to become future entrepreneurs and local job creators through HOPE Business In A Box;
• Open 1,000 HOPE Inside locations where individuals can receive financial literacy empowerment;
• Increase individual credit scores in low-wealth communities from the average of 550 to 700 through HOPE's 700 Credit Score Communities Initiative.

HOPE also launched its new informative online resource for Project 5117. The site includes the initiative's mission, project updates and future plans. The online tool shares the history of HOPE's empowerment movement, "silver rights" and includes links for visitors to join the organization's work to eradicate poverty.

"Project 5117 is the ultimate playbook for success that integrates HOPE's most vital programs and services," said Bryant, at the 2013 HOPE Global Summit. "Project 5117 is modeled after the third phase of Dr. Martin Luther King's 'Poor People's Campaign,' which was the last great battle of his life. By helping to fulfill Dr. King's Dream, it is our goal to deliver millions of families across the globe from poverty to opportunity."

About Operation HOPE

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Operation HOPE promotes financial dignity through financial literacy and education tools to underserved communities. Through its four core portfolios, the organization has provided youth and adult financial literacy, economic preparedness, digital empowerment, promoted home ownership, and assisted with foreclosure prevention to more than 2 million individuals, families, and small business owners. To learn more about Operation HOPE, visit www.operationhope.org, follow us our Twitter, @operationhope, and Like us on Facebook.

SOURCE Operation HOPE