Soles4Souls Receives $150,000 Grant From Bank of America to Expand Entrepreneurship Program to Dominican Republic
“For more than a decade, we have seen how our 4Opportunity program can change lives around the world,” said Soles4Souls President and CEO Buddy Teaster. “Building on our deep partnerships in Haiti, BofA’s incredible support will allow us to bring that opportunity to some of the most disadvantaged communities in the Dominican Republic. We believe BofA’s generous grant will have a meaningful, measurable impact by supporting Soles4Souls in working with those looking to create a better life for themselves and their families.”
Soles4Souls’ 4Opportunity program has been empowering under-resourced communities in some of the world’s most economically challenged areas since 2008. The people in these countries, especially women, often have little access to the marketplace, let alone the opportunity to create wealth for themselves and their families.
The program also has important environmental benefits. Americans throw away nearly 300 million pairs of shoes each year and about 21 billion pounds of textiles. By some estimates, a truckload of textile waste is added to landfills or incinerated every second. This waste creates 9 billion pounds of carbon emissions and squanders 7 billion gallons of water. Soles4Souls’ efforts help address this issue by extending the life of a pair of shoes by at least 15 months, reducing their carbon impact per wear and preventing them from becoming environmentally harmful waste. Since 2006, Soles4Souls has diverted 91 million pounds of shoes and clothing from landfills in 34 countries and all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“Soles4Souls has developed an innovative approach to simultaneously nurture small businesses and address challenges of poverty, gender inequality and waste, and we’re proud that our support will enable the organization to impact even more communities,” said Alex Liftman, Global Environmental Executive at Bank of America.
Research shows women in low-income countries reinvest their money into meeting their children’s basic needs like education, health, and safety, increasing their chances of long-term disruption of poverty. Entrepreneurs in the 4Opportunity program report that they have been able to increase their household income by more than 200%, which equates to putting them on average more than 5 times above the international poverty line.
In addition to the $150,000 grant, Bank of America employees will participate in a shoe drive across the company’s locations beginning in April. Shoes donated during this drive will also go to the 4Opportunity program.
Bank of America has proudly partnered with Soles4Souls through its My Environment employee network since 2017.
To find out more information about Soles4Souls and 4Opportunity, go to Soles4Souls.org.
Soles4Souls turns shoes and clothing into educational and economic opportunities. Our programs, 4Opportunity, 4Relief, 4EveryKid and 4ThePlanet, aim to make a positive difference on the planet and in people’s economic, educational, physical, and psychosocial well-being. Since 2006, more than 94 million pairs of shoes and pieces of clothing have helped create opportunities for people across 137 countries. Soles4Souls is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with Regional Donation Centers and warehouse locations around the world. Visit soles4souls.org for more information.
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 69 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,800 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 57 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BAC).
Sheryl Lee, Bank of America
Phone: 1.657.234.9950
sheryl.lee2@bofa.com
