SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) – Women’s Empowerment has received $75,000 from Wells Fargo to provide workforce development skills, paid job training, job search assistance and housing support during the pandemic for women who are currently homeless or have recently experienced homelessness. Wells Fargo has been one of Women’s Empowerment’s longest funders, giving $442,450 since 2008.

“This profoundly generous gift from Wells Fargo will have a powerful effect on our community as we all work together to weather the storms of the pandemic, high unemployment and continued housing crisis,” said Lisa Culp, executive director, Women’s Empowerment. “We are grateful to Wells Fargo for its longtime leadership in our community and for recognizing the essential role of nonprofits like ours in addressing this triple threat that has the most devastating impact on women and children without homes.”

Women’s Empowerment’s programs combine employment readiness, self-esteem courses, health services and education, counseling, housing assistance, job placement and paid job training to help women overcome homelessness across diverse ages, races and cultures. Women’s Empowerment was featured on NBC’s The TODAY Show in 2015 for offering the most comprehensive job-readiness program in the Sacramento area designed specifically for women who are homeless and their children.

“Women’s Empowerment does more than provide women with the support, tools and resources needed to obtain a job and become self-sufficient,” said Kären Woodruff, Wells Fargo vice president of social impact and sustainability in Northern California. “It also – and perhaps most importantly – helps its clients open their eyes to see their strength, worth and potential, and that’s invaluable! We are honored to continue to support Women’s Empowerment and the work it does to lift women in their time of need.”

The award-winning organization has graduated 1,691 women and their 3,792 children. Last year, 70 percent of graduates found homes in the midst of the housing crisis, and 79 percent secured jobs or enrolled in school or training. Women’s Empowerment is funded through private donations from the community and grants. To donate: Womens-Empowerment.org.