Operation HOPE Announces New Clinton Global Initiative America Commitment to Helping Reduce the Dropout Rate at the 2015 CGI America Annual Meeting

LOS ANGELES, June 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant joined some of  the most influential organizations and leaders in America on the Main Stage at the 2015 Clinton Global Initiative America meeting (CGI America) on June 9^th to announce a new Commitment to Action for expanding skills for U.S. youth, HOPE B- Business Compact.  (Watch here.)

"Operation HOPE pledges to connect student backpacks to briefcases. It is an important next step to reignite youth interest in education and help reduce the dropout rate," said Bryant. "Operation HOPE aims to place 100 high-school youth in 6-week internships across the US with founding partner-members, and sparking a resurgence of the Apprenticeship Generation."

The financial dignity leader created the initiative, HOPE B- Business Compact, to help shrink the nation's high-school dropout crisis. The program will identify, recruit and organize 10 leading CEOs to become founding partner members, who agree to make business internships available for six-weeks or longer to young people from low-wealth, urban, and rural underserved communities who achieve a B- or better grade point average in high school. A portal on the Operation HOPE website has been designed to capture those interested in serving as partners or volunteers.

CGI Commitments to Action each employ different approaches and strategies, address different challenges, and work in different geographies. HOPE's commitment will roll up into the more than 400 Commitments to Action. A Commitment to Action—the defining feature of CGI—is a plan for addressing a significant global challenge.

Senior executives Mary H. Ehrsam CEO, New York and Division President, HOPE Youth Empowerment Group and Kevin Boucher Director, HOPE Forums also attended the event, in support of Bryant and Operation HOPE efforts.

HOPE B- Compact is an initiative of Project 5117, HOPE's efforts to empower the teetering middle-class. Project 5117 is supported by a national alliance with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and with the ongoing support of the American Bankers Association, the FDIC, Financial Services Roundtable, US Small Business Administration and the Mortgage Bankers Association, Project 5117 picks up where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr left off, more than 50 years ago.  By year 2020, Project 5117 has mapped a multi-pronged approach to provide financial empowerment opportunities to underserved and under-resourced communities to more than 5 million individuals.

About Clinton Global Initiative America

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. Established in June 2011 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) addresses economic recovery in the United States. CGI America brings together leaders in business, government, and civil society to generate and implement commitments to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, foster innovation, and support workforce development in the United States. Since its first meeting, CGI America participants have made more than 400 commitments, which have improved the lives of nearly 1.4 million people.

CGI also convenes an Annual Meeting, which brings together global leaders to take action and create positive social change, CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world, and, this year, CGI will also convene CGI Middle East & Africa, which will bring together leaders across sectors to take action on pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

About Operation HOPE, Inc

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Operation HOPE is rated a 4-star charity by Charity Navigator. A global nonprofit focused on financial dignity, HOPE has empowered more than 2.5 million individuals and directed more than $1.8 billion in private capital to America's low-wealth communities. Currently, HOPE is focused on 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.

SOURCE Operation HOPE