Operation HOPE Opportunity Bus Tour Highlights the Power of Community Partnerships for Rebuilding and Revitalizing Underserved Communities

HOPE releases inaugural Quincy Jones celebrity edition of 'Banking on Our Future' curriculum

LOS ANGELES, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Operation HOPE celebrates its 20^th anniversary with the Opportunity Bus Tour – From Chaos to Community in Los Angeles with community and corporate partners – including respected entertainers, public servants and business leaders – and the release of the Quincy Jones Celebrity Edition financial literacy curriculum.

The Bus Tour and ceremony will include testimonials of individuals who have found success through Operation HOPE's financial literacy and dignity initiatives and will feature a keynote address from U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank. Other luminaries will give remarks, including event co-chairs:

• John Hope Bryant, founder & CEO, Operation HOPE
• The Honorable Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles
• Quincy Jones, Grammy-award winning producer & Operation HOPE 5MK national co-chair
• Ambassador Andrew Young, civil rights icon & Operation HOPE global spokesperson & Operation HOPE 5MK national co-chair
• Peter Ueberroth, former co-chairman of Rebuild Los Angeles
• Dr. Cecil "Chip" Murray, chairman of the Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement
• Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr., Pastor of West Angeles Church of God in Christ

Singer, songwriter & entertainer Tyrese Gibson will also participate in today's ceremony.

In addition, at the invitation of Operation HOPE, President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness announced over the weekend that it will host a listening and action session of the council and its members at the Cathedral of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in South Los Angeles following the completion of today's Bus Tour. 

"The HOPE Opportunity Bus Tour demonstrates how financial dignity and literacy are realized with the collaboration of partners in every sector, including business, entertainment, government and many more," said John Hope Bryant, founder and CEO of Operation HOPE. "We are making real progress, revitalizing our neighborhoods and expanding access to capitalism in underserved communities across the country. We've been on this amazing journey with our partners to empower people with financial education, and I'm honored by everyone who could join us today to tour the areas we've been able to impact."

While celebrity and political leaders join in the two-decade commemoration, curriculum remains the focus of the historical celebration. The new 'Quincy Jones Celebrity Edition' of the 'Banking on Our Future' curriculum will be revealed at the Bus Tour's first stop at Quincy Jones Elementary School in Los Angeles.

For the last 20 years, HOPE has been cultivating financial literacy tools to empower underserved communities, and this new edition adds the mentorship of icon, Quincy Jones, as a foundation through which students can learn how financial issues translate to real world experiences. Based on his personal experiences with money management, the lessons will inspire and empower students to control their own financial futures, giving them a deeper understanding of the language of money. Jones becomes the first celebrity in what will be a series of specialized curriculum to have his life's story woven into HOPE financial literacy curriculum.

"Banking on Our Future's curriculum has educated over 600,000 people already," said Quincy Jones. "It's our goal that this inaugural issue will further empower youth with financial literacy; that's our best weapon to ensure that young people in our underserved communities have their shot at the American Dream."

Operation HOPE was founded following the Rodney King verdict in 1992 with the goal of making financial dignity relevant to all people through a movement for "silver rights." The HOPE Opportunity Bus Tour will travel through the neighborhoods that were ravaged during the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles, highlight the transformations and successes that Operation HOPE, and other community heroes and sheroes have achieved working together, over the last two decades.  It will also tell the story of grassroots community success, offering a new perspective of South Los Angeles and a balanced view of this diverse developing community.

Among the invaluable corporate partners supporting Operation HOPE and the Bus Tour are Signature Sponsors: Bank of America, Toyota, Union Bank and Wells Fargo, Gold Sponsors include:  Bank of the West, Comerica, JP Morgan Chase, and US Bank, along with Silver Sponsors: Cathay Bank and CoreLogic. These alliances demonstrate the strong resonance that the cause of economic empowerment and "silver rights" have had with a variety of stakeholders – from the C-Suite to church pews to community action organizations – all across the country. 

Over the years, many organizations like Rebuild Los Angeles, which was led by Bus Tour co-chair Peter Ueberroth, have been shoulder-to-shoulder with Operation HOPE to build the critical infrastructure that is responsible for today's success stories. Rebuild Los Angeles was responsible for raising and securing commitments of almost $800 million in private sector investment to directly impact underserved communities. This story of innovative, productive public-private partnership has been told many times over during the last two decades of HOPE. 

The HOPE bus tour is the first of several events that HOPE is facilitating this year to mark 20 years of progress and to help develop an agenda for the promising future. Learn more about the future events at www.operationhope.org.   

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: Operation HOPE, Inc.

SOURCE Operation HOPE