$1.1 Million Effort By AT&T and the AT&T Foundation Will Help Local Nonprofits Expand Outreach Programs
AT&T* is kicking off Believe Seattle,℠ a grassroots, employee-driven campaign that will use AT&T and AT&T Foundation resources to make a difference in the lives of Greater Seattle residents through technology, volunteerism and education. This program is an extension of AT&T Believes,℠ a larger company-wide initiative which aims to create positive change in local communities.
With Believe Seattle, AT&T is bringing together its leadership, employees and resources to work alongside nonprofits to help address challenges in our community. Working with community leaders, the initiative will focus on homelessness, food insecurity, gender equality and diversity.
AT&T will host the Believe Seattle community kickoff event today at The Lounge by AT&T in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, where AT&T will present over $900,000 in contributions and the AT&T Foundation will present over $150,000 in grants, for a total of $1.1 million, to Seattle-based nonprofits in the first wave of Believe Seattle support. The event will also feature panel discussion with participation from community leaders that will focus on inclusion and gender equity in Seattle.
“Finding your way in this world is hard enough, but it’s near impossible if you don’t have access to basic necessities,” said Bob Bass, president of AT&T Washington. “By coming together as a company and community to focus on a common cause, we hope we can make a meaningful difference for challenged communities in Seattle.”
Believe Seattle aims to make a difference in Seattle communities through:
Volunteerism & Employee Engagement: Engage with Seattle-area based employee groups including Women of AT&T, InspirASIAN, LEAGUE and HACEMOS and more than 3,500 AT&T employees to mentor students, provide resources for employee driven initiatives, volunteer activities and community giving events.
Education: We are joining with Seattle-area nonprofits like Communities in Schools Washington, Washington Alliance for Better Schools, and El Centro de la Raza to support education programs promoting high school success and career readiness.
Job Readiness: We are working with community and philanthropic organizations such as After School All-Stars’ Career Exploration Opportunities program and Treehouse’s Graduation Success program to train, mentor, educate and upskill Seattle-area residents in underserved neighborhoods to improve economic mobility.
Equality and Inclusion: We are joining with Women’s Funding Alliance’s 100% Talent Initiative, Asian Counseling and Referral Services, Greater Seattle Business Association, and the Seattle Storm Academy to promote gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
Impacting Homelessness: Support local organizations like Hopelink’s End Summer Hunger program, YWCA Seattle’s Angeline’s Place, and United Way of King County’s Home Base program to help improve lives in underserved communities and neighborhoods through food security, support for women experiencing homelessness, and assistance through eviction processes in King County courts. We look forward to working with internal and external stakeholders, particularly Microsoft on their affordable housing initiative, to explore other opportunities for collaboration.
Technology: Utilize assets and innovations such as the OurCalling smartphone app to provide resources for Seattle-area homeless.
“We believe in our youth. We believe in their capacity to overcome, succeed in school and build a successful life for themselves following graduation,” said Janis Avery, CEO of Treehouse. “AT&T through the Believe Seattle program gives us valuable resources to utilize with these amazing young people. That support is absolutely critical as we work to achieve our goal of having youth in foster care across the state graduate from high school at the same rate as their peers by 2022.”
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