Harlem bank branch improves financial equity through nonprofit partnership
NEW YORK -- Many of us made New Year's resolutions to improve our finances, and one Wells Fargo branch in Harlem is here to help. The location at 143 Lenox Ave. has partnered with the nonprofit Operation HOPE to offer free financial coaching for the community.
In an effort to increase equity and access to financial advice, Operation HOPE targeted 20 cities in 2023, partnering with Wells Fargo to open HOPE Inside Centers, now operating inside select branches.
"You can't grow a community or a country without access to banking," said Operation HOPE president and CEO John Hope Bryant. "You need entrepreneurs and business and consumer health in concert with a solid banking system to uplift and grow in a community."
The bank redesigned each branch to accommodate an extra office. In the Harlem location, Operation HOPE Financial Wellbeing Coach Tierina Peña has helped more than 80 neighbors, whether they hope to pay for their child's college tuition, buy a home, start a business or build their very first budget, all for free.
"Sometimes the biggest challenge is the guilt and the shame that is associated when our finances are not well," Peña said. "And that same guilt and shame kind of keeps sometimes people from actually moving forward."
Wells Fargo Foundation president Darlene Goins points to an FDIC survey that found Black and Brown families account for more than half of American households without a bank account.
"I actually went to high school in Harlem, so it's like coming back to my roots and making sure that I can give back to the community," Goins said.
This project is the product of a ten-year commitment by the bank to break those generational cycles.
"We had a client who had improved his credit score by over 90 points in about seven months," Goins said, "so it can have real impact."
Wells Fargo has also extended services like ATM access to Black-owned banks like Carver across the street from the Harlem branch.
"It changes when we actually start teaching our children the things that we didn't learn and equipping them with financial literacy they need in order to do what they want to do," added Peña.
Peña says the start of the year is a great time to make a spreadsheet of all your accounts, so you can see your situation clearly and take action.
You do not need to be a Wells Fargo client to access the free services, and Peña can also provide group coaching for your organization or business. To register and learn more, click here.
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