With rock star support from Ben Harper combined with others, LIFT Chicago is growing.
More importantly, LIFT is growing across the country because it creates economic and emotional stability for those who need it most—and in a very cost-effective manner.
LIFT is a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive services to help lift individuals and families out poverty. By eliminating barriers to service, LIFT delivers problem-solving services with care, compassion and dignity for less money than most social service programs.
How do they do it? By using well-trained, committed college student volunteers as advocates who bring idealism, passion and a strong work ethic to their one-on-one work with each client. Advocates address whatever need the client presents—including homelessness, job search assistance, education, and obtaining benefits or mental health care.
This transforms not only the lives of the client families, but also of the volunteer advocates. There’s potential to transform how society deals with poverty in general, creating hope and empowerment where once there was only despair.
LIFT was founded by Kirsten Lodal in 1998, when she was a sophomore at Yale University. So perplexed by the inability of willing university students to find ways to help those living and struggling in the surrounding community, she dropped out of school for a year to take up the cause. LIFT quickly grew into other cities.
Photo: LIFT Summit 2012
LIFT Chicago opened in 2000. “Originally we served 10 clients per week,” says executive director Ben Reuler. Success of the program and unconditional acceptance bred fast growth. “Now it’s more like 10 clients per hour!”
Ben Harper is performing at this year’s LIFT benefit April 10 at Park West. Make It Better is proud to be the media sponsor. It’s difficult to imagine a better night out than sharing great live music with friends, while helping to grow a program that empowers volunteers and recipients alike and envisions a future without poverty in our country.
One example of LIFT’s success is a client featured at last year’s LIFT benefit. She was homeless and living in her car with her kids when she found her way to LIFT. Advocates helped her find subsidized housing, food certificates, glasses for her daughter and, eventually, scholarships for her kids to the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.
The LIFT volunteer experience is so popular that applicants submit to a rigorous application process only to end up on a waiting list. Loyola, Northwestern, DePaul and other university students agree to a two-semester, four-hour-a-week commitment. Reuler laughs as he says, “Advocates often, eventually claim that they majored in LIFT.”
LIFT’s ultimate goals are lofty. It wants to transform how our country views and responds to those living in poverty. As explained in this LIFTopolis video, our society already has the tools and technology to accomplish this, we just need the will to do so.
This recent New York Times OpEd, “In the Fight Against Poverty, It’s Time for a Revolution” supports this same idea.
LIFT By The Numbers:
- The Robin Hood Foundation gives LIFT a ROI calculation of 1:20 IE for every $100,000 invested, LIFT produces more than $2,000,000 in outcomes, such as jobs and other support, which lift families out of poverty.
- 84 cents of every dollar goes directly to client service & programming.
- Expenses average $250 per client served. Therefore, a $1,000 donation sponsors four client families lifted out of poverty.
- 8,300 families have been served in Chicago to date.
