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��ɫ��Ƶ Washington DC is pleased to announce its recent award from the Health Equity Fund, a component fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, for its three-year demonstration project in collaboration with LIFT-DC. This new initiative is entitled Lifting as we Climb: Supporting Parents and Caregivers Participating in National Service. The $1.5M investment, shared between the two organizations over the three-year project period, is transformational in its goal to address the social and structural determinants of health, especially for parents and caregivers.

��ɫ��Ƶ DC and LIFT-DC share in the belief that everyone can be great because everyone can serve. By deploying young people in Washington, DC schools to serve as student success coaches, ��ɫ��Ƶ DC not only improves student outcomes, but also uplifts and mentors a new generation of young, diverse leaders. LIFT-DC’s work in the community has been proven to break the cycle of poverty for parents and caregivers. The two organizations came together with a goal to ensure that everyone has the ability to be transformed by participating in a year of service. The collaborative project will demonstrate how additional resources in the form of coaching, monetary assistance, and wraparound supports can better retain caregivers in AmeriCorps and support their successful transition out of their year of service into living-wage careers. It will also provide valuable insights that LIFT and ��ɫ��Ƶ will share with AmeriCorps, to make the case for additional investment in parents and caregivers, on a national scale.

In speaking with Dr. Michael Stevens, Executive Director of ��ɫ��Ƶ DC, he shares his thoughts on this transformational investment: “��ɫ��Ƶ Washington DC is deeply honored and excited to partner with the LIFT-DC to support the economic mobility of parents and caregivers serving as AmeriCorps Members through this demonstration project with the Health Equity Fund. Addressing the structural and social determinants of health that consistently affect our community is what is needed now more than ever, and this transformational grant will enable our organizations to focus on this in ways we never could before.”

��ɫ��Ƶ DC and LIFT-DC are incredibly grateful to the Health Equity Fund and Greater Washington Community Foundation for their belief in this innovative project. The Health Equity Fund is a leader in addressing the root causes of health disparities in the district through addressing the social and structural determinants of health that impact health outcomes, including education, employment, income, housing, transportation, nutrition, environment safety, medical care, and more. ��ɫ��Ƶ and LIFT are excited to be one of five projects selected for this grant round to advance health equity and economic mobility for Washington, DC community members.

If you are interested in supporting ��ɫ��Ƶ DC’s growing work with students, young people, and caregivers, please visit:

For more information about this grant announcement or questions for the ��ɫ��Ƶ DC team, please reach out to Haley Smyser at haley.smyser@cityyear.org.