CIT Supports Housing for Homeless Families in Los Angeles with Grant to Upward Bound House

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 7, 2020 /3BL Media/-- CIT Group Inc. (CIT) has announced that it has made a donation that will completely furnish ten temporary housing apartments for Upward Bound House, an organization working to eliminate homelessness among families with children in Los Angeles. The donation addresses a community need identified by a customer of CIT’s Southern California retail bank OneWest Bank as part of the company’s Acts of Caring initiative.

CIT’s donation provides standard apartment items like bedroom furniture and bedding, couches and televisions, and kitchen and bath essentials, and helps provide stability to families in need as they work with Upward Bound House to transition to a more permanent living situation.

Since 1991, Upward Bound House has helped 1,911 families, including 3,757 children, transition from homelessness into permanent housing. The organization provides housing, supportive services and advocacy to homeless families, helping them access basic resources and successfully transition into their own homes with the capacity to remain there permanently.

“In the Los Angeles area, there are thousands of families with children who face homelessness every day. We work to provide the support and resources that they need, to get them back on their feet and secure permanent housing for them,” said Christine Mirasy-Glasco, chief executive officer at Upward Bound House. “As homeless families move into our housing, CIT’s donation will ensure that they have everything they need and help them to feel more comfortable with this transition.”

“Through our Acts of Caring initiative, we’re learning about causes that our customers passionately support and are completing projects to advance them,” said Heather Ellison, head of Retail Banking at CIT. “We’re proud to work with organizations like Upward Bound House, who are doing incredible work in their communities to ensure a better quality of life for all.”

CIT Acts of Caring

As part of CIT’s Acts of Caring program, the company invited customers to nominate a need in their hometown and share how the company could support those efforts on their behalf. Identified by a customer of CIT's Southern California retail bank division OneWest Bank, Upward Bound House is one of ten projects nationwide that was selected to receive a donation from CIT this summer.

The customer program follows a month-long social good project where CIT employees completed more than 3,000 Acts of Caring and dedicated nearly 5,000 hours in support of causes such as COVID-19 relief, addressing food insecurity, improving the environment and advancing social and economic justice.

Learn more about CIT’s Acts of Caring initiative at cit.com/ActsOfCaring.

About Upward Bound House

The mission of Upward Bound House (UBH) is to eliminate homelessness among families with children in Los Angeles by providing housing, supportive services and advocacy. In fulfillment of our mission, UBH’s central goal is to empower every homeless family, regardless of their particular age or barriers, to achieve self-sufficiency and lead productive, fulfilling lives.

About CIT

CIT is a leading national bank focused on empowering businesses and personal savers with the financial agility to navigate their goals. CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with over a century of experience and operates a principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A. (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender). The company's commercial banking segment includes commercial financing, community association banking, middle market banking, equipment and vendor financing, factoring, railcar financing, treasury and payments services, and capital markets and asset management. CIT's consumer banking segment includes a national direct bank and regional branch network. Discover more at cit.com/about.

MEDIA RELATIONS: 
Lexa Tutela
212-461-5305
Alexandra.Tutela@cit.com