LIFT is a national

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

dedicated to helping families break the

cycle of poverty In economics, a cycle of poverty or poverty trap is caused by self-reinforcing mechanisms that cause poverty, once it exists, to persist unless there is outside intervention. It can persist across generations, and when applied to developing count ...

. By fostering relationships between low-income parents (members) and dedicated volunteers (advocates), LIFT helps families build the strong personal, social and financial foundations to secure immediate, critical needs and to achieve long-term goals and aspirations. LIFT connects with families through four sites located in communities with some of the highest rates of concentrated poverty:

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

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. Because this work cannot be done alone, LIFT focuses on building strong community collaborations with a wide range of local, regional and national partners to help ensure families receive the resources and support they need. Since LIFT's founding, over 12,000 volunteers have served nearly 100,000 individuals and families.

History

LIFT, then known as National Student Partnerships (NSP), was founded in the fall of 1998 by then

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

students Kirsten Lodal and Brian Krieter. Lodal and Kreiter originally conceived the idea to start LIFT after volunteering in various

child services Child and family services is a government or non-profit organisation designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, ''environmental'' or ''biological''. People who seek or are sought after to participate in ...

programs around

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. They were struck by the lack of services for the parents of the children in these programs. Lodal and Kreiter developed the idea of establishing a single center within their community where families could receive assistance from trained volunteers across a spectrum of

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

. Initially, these services included finding

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

, securing housing, obtaining public benefits, and making connections with other service agencies. In their effort, Lodal and Kreiter consulted with community members and leaders from

as well as policy experts in Washington DC. The goal of their model was to bypass the traditional shortcomings of episodic and thin volunteer service programs. LIFT established their first center in New Haven, CT and soon recruited student leaders on

college campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

es across the country to build these community service centers using the LIFT model within their communities. In 2004, Kirsten Lodal and Brian Kreiter received the Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards, for their work with LIFT. In 2015, Kirsten Lodal was selected to join the prestigious 2015 class of Aspen Institute Ascend Fellows. She was chosen based on her entrepreneurial leadership and her implementation of bold ideas that change the trajectory of low-income families' lives throughout the US. In May 2015, LIFT was chosen as one of 12 organizations to receive funding from

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's inaugural "Red Nose Day".

References

{{reflist Non-profit organizations based in the United States