Target, United Way and Strive Announce Education Partnership

Organizations join forces to improve education and put more children on the path to graduation

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, at Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), Strive, United Way and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) announced a partnership to tackle America's education challenges. The collaboration will build on the successful Strive framework for building civic infrastructure, the community strength of United Way, and Target's commitment to education, to help more children graduate from high school and college. The $1 million investment from Target will enable Strive and United Way to help communities move beyond traditional collaboration by mobilizing partners around strategies that improve student outcomes, such as kindergarten readiness, standardized test results, and college retention rates.

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"This partnership has tremendous potential to impact the lives of children all across the country," said Jeff Edmondson, Managing Director of Strive. "The lessons learned from these six communities will directly influence the nearly 1,200 United Ways nationwide that are bringing together local partners to address problems that impact us all."

Through this partnership, Strive, United Way and Target will bring nonprofits, businesses, and the public together around a common agenda in each community. As part of the collaboration, each of the three organizations will leverage their unique strengths:

• Strive will bring its proven approach to aligning cross-sector partners to achieve results. This includes bringing experience from work at their flagship site in Cincinnati and lessons from 90 other sites across the country, to provide technical assistance and strategic support to the participating United Way members.
• United Way Worldwide will tap its extensive network, including local United Way members, to bring together community leaders, partners, education experts and more to set shared goals, as well as mobilize data, donors, volunteers and advocates.
• Target will fund the partnership with Strive and United Way Worldwide with a $1 million investment. Additionally, Target will provide guidance on how to best use data to inform decisions, advocate nationally, and leverage local volunteers.

"We believe in creating opportunities for a better life for all people," said Stacey D. Stewart, U.S. President, United Way Worldwide. "This partnership with Strive and Target demonstrates how United Ways across the country are bringing partners and communities together to ensure every child has access to a good education and can graduate on time and have the best chance at a successful future."

Target's investment in Strive and United Way Worldwide is part of the company's $1 billion commitment to education by the end of 2015.

"Target is committed to address our country's education challenges to ensure all children have access to quality learning, but we can't do it alone," said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. "Target's partnership with Strive and United Way will allow us to generate greater momentum to tackle education problems, creating a meaningful impact for students across the nation."

Beginning in October, United Way Worldwide and Strive will engage the selected communities in intensive coaching and ongoing support. The ultimate goal of this work is to ensure that every child succeeds, from cradle to career.

About Strive
Strive, a subsidiary of KnowledgeWorks, works with communities nationwide to help them create a civic infrastructure that unites stakeholders around shared goals, measures and results in education, supporting the success of every child, cradle to career. Communities implementing the Strive framework have seen dramatic improvements in kindergarten readiness, standardized test results, and college retention. For more information about Strive, visit www.strivenetwork.org.

About United Way
United Way, a worldwide movement in 41 countries and territories, includes nearly 1,200 local organizations in the United States. It advances the common good by focusing on education, income and health – the building blocks for a good quality life. LIVE UNITED is United Way's call to action for everyone to give, to advocate and to volunteer to improve conditions in their local community. For more information about United Way, please visit: UnitedWay.org.

About Target
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) serves guests at 1,870 stores – 1,788 in the United States and 82 in Canada – and at Target.com. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its profit through community grants and programs; today, that giving equals more than $4 million a week. For more information about Target's commitment to corporate responsibility, visit target.com/corporateresponsibility.

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative, an initiative of Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have bright together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have made more than 2,300 commitments, which are already improving the lives of more than 400 million people in over 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $73.5 billion.

CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and 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 Latin America, which will bring together Latin American leaders to identify, harness, and strengthen ways to improve the livelihoods of people in Latin America and around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

Media Contacts:
Strive
Byron McCauley
[email protected] 
513-929-1310

United Way
Amanda Ponzar
[email protected] 
703-836-7112, x253

Target
Sarah Van Nevel
[email protected] 
612-761-6075

SOURCE United Way Worldwide