Voya Foundation Announces First Quarter 2015 Grant Recipients

NEW YORK, March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), announced today that eight nonprofit organizations located throughout the country will receive grants in the first quarter of 2015 through the company's charitable giving arm, the Voya Foundation. This quarter, Voya has initiated two new relationships which support its ongoing giving priorities of children's education and financial literacy. YouthLink provides homeless youth with financial literacy training and Clarifi delivers a debt education program for low-income women. Below is an overview of first quarter 2015 grant recipients:

• Youthlink (Minneapolis) – Voya has partnered with YouthLink in support of the organization's Financial Literacy for Homeless Youth program, which provides homeless, transition-age youth with a financial literacy curriculum taught by Voya Financial employees. Topics include budgeting, credit cards, credit and banking, interest, and setting basic savings goals.  

 

• Clarifi (Coatesville, Pennsylvania) – Clarifi is a nonprofit devoted to improving financial literacy through educational programming, regardless of economic status. Voya will support the organization's Debt Boot Camp, a six-month intensive financial education program for low-income women. Key topics include reducing or eliminating debt; developing and maintaining a budget to reduce unnecessary spending; and establishing long-term savings goals.

 

• Cristo Rey New York High School (New York) – Voya will sponsor Cristo Rey's Summer Academy and Business Boot Camp, a three-week program that prepares incoming students for success in the Cristo Rey school system. The program includes a rigorous curriculum and work experience with partnering organizations. Classes focus on English and math skill development along with the training needed to work in professional environment, to interact with adults and to navigate Manhattan.

 

• WJCT Public Broadcasting (Jacksonville, Florida) – For the past 15 years, PBS' Ready to Learn educational workshop has used electronic media to help millions of young children learn basic reading and math skills. Voya's grant to WJCT will build out this national program at the local level in Jacksonville. Programming will include the creation of a series of workshops for parents and guardians to promote parental involvement in children's education.

 

• Connecticut Science Center (Hartford, Connecticut) – The Connecticut Science Center's Women in Science lecture and program series is designed to raise the profile of women in science and to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers among young girls. Voya's grant will fund speakers and educational events including leadership awards, weekend programming and the museum's first ever "Girls' Hackathon."

 

• Chester County Futures (Exton, Pennsylvania) – Chester County Futures' Passport to College program provides motivated, disadvantaged Chester County youth with real-world learning and student advisors. Instruction is provided on a variety of relevant, grade-appropriate topics such as financial literacy, study skills, career exploration, college exploration and application, and 21^st-century skill development.

 

• Medgar Evers College (Brooklyn, New York) – The Elite Scholars program provides scholarships and educational materials to the most qualified Medgar Evers College (MEC) students studying business, finance and related fields. MEC is the only historically black college within the City University of New York system, with a vast majority of students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds and being the first in their families to attend college.

 

• People's Light (Malvern, Pennsylvania) – Voya's funding will support the People's Light Arts Discovery program, which is designed to complement curriculum at local schools. The program uses theater arts to enhance literacy and language arts skills for a diverse set of students from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania.  

Through charitable giving, the Voya Foundation focuses on exemplary programs in the areas of financial education and children's education to help build an educated workforce. One of the foundation's signature programs, the Voya-Girls Inc. Investment Challenge, provides high school girls with practical, hands-on investing experience, while allowing them to keep a portion of their gains in the form of college scholarships. At the core of the Voya Foundation is the belief that education is the key to healthy communities, which foster the sustainability and growth of the economy. 

As an industry leader and advocate for greater retirement readiness, Voya Financial is committed to delivering on its vision to be America's Retirement Company^™ and on its mission to make a secure financial future possible — one person, one family and one institution at a time.

Media Contact:
Nicole Vasile       
Voya Financial                                                                                                             
Office: (860) 580-2690                                               
Cell: (860) 839-1589                                                  
Nicole.Vasile@voya.com      

About the Voya Foundation

The Voya Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in communities where Voya Financial^® operates and its employees and customers live. The Voya Foundation provides grants and establishes signature partnerships in the areas of financial literacy and children's education and fosters employee engagement to deepen our positive impact on the community. For more information, visit www.voyafoundation.com.

About Voya Financial®

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), is composed of premier retirement, investment and insurance companies serving the financial needs of approximately 13 million individual and institutional customers in the United States. The company's vision is to be America's Retirement Company™ and its guiding principle is centered on solving the most daunting financial challenge facing Americans today — retirement readiness. Working directly with clients and through a broad group of financial intermediaries, independent producers, affiliated advisors and dedicated sales specialists, Voya provides a comprehensive portfolio of asset accumulation, asset protection and asset distribution products and services. With a dedicated workforce of approximately 6,500 employees, Voya is grounded in a clear mission to make a secure financial future possible — one person, one family, one institution at a time. For more information, visit voya.com or view our Voya Financial Interactive Company Profile. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook and Twitter @Voya. 

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SOURCE Voya Financial, Inc.