Covenant House Newsroom

NEW YORK (January 31, 2022) – Today, in partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA), The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), Cisco Systems, Take-Two Interactive, The Starbucks Foundation, Bank of America, and Delta Air Lines, Covenant House is launching “Rising to Tomorrow,” a bold new commitment to end youth homelessness. This new initiative will support the work of providing more than 4 million nights of housing over the next five years for youth facing homelessness. In addition to new beds, this means more food, and more medical and mental health support.

Covenant House is the largest, primarily privately-funded charity in the Americas helping youth experiencing homelessness and survivors of human trafficking, providing 24/7 crisis care, and ongoing support in 33 cities across six countries. This year marks 50 years that Covenant House has remained open 24/7 to young people facing homelessness. The new “Rising to Tomorrow” campaign was initiated to recognize a half a century of believing in youth and nurturing Covenant House’s promise to them.

“At 50, our mission is more vibrant, more relevant, and more important than at any time in our history,” said Covenant House President & CEO Kevin Ryan. “But the trials of the COVID pandemic have laid bare the extent of the youth homelessness crisis. We need to do more. Today our young people are calling us to be bolder, to amplify their voices, and grow this movement to end youth homelessness.”

Rising to Tomorrow is a yearlong cross-channel campaign that offers opportunities to become informed and get involved in the fight to end youth homelessness through groundbreaking new research launches, engaging thought-leadership opportunities, meaningful in-person/virtual events, and our biggest global Sleep Out yet. 

The campaign will feature Robin Roberts, anchor of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” who will be receiving the prestigious Covenant House Beacon of Hope award in recognition of her tireless efforts to amplify the voices of young people experiencing homelessness and inspiring millions of young people to be proud, strong, and brave. Robin joins an elite group of distinguished past Beacon of Hope award recipients including: First Lady Laura Bush; rock star and philanthropist Jon Bon Jovi; country star and philanthropist Martina McBride; Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman; humanitarian Olivia Harrison, wife of the late, great Beatle and philanthropist George; six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald; and Golden Globe and Emmy award winner Rachel Brosnahan. 

“Our Rising to Tomorrow campaign will champion our strong, resilient young people and, with help from dedicated partners and amazing ambassadors like Robin Roberts, we will grow our movement and renew and strengthen our commitment to ending youth homelessness,” said Ryan. “It can be done, and it must be done.”

The goal of Rising to Tomorrow is to provide over 4 million nights of housing over the next five years, including opening more beds, serving more food, meeting more medical and mental health needs. “We will also amplify our advocacy efforts, for racially just housing and for human rights, attacking what we know are the root causes of youth homelessness,” said Ryan.

Covenant House could not meet this goal without the support of its partners and their commitment to help the organization end youth homelessness. The NBA, NBPA, Cisco, Take-Two Interactive, The Starbucks Foundation, Bank of America, and Delta Air Lines commented on the importance of fighting youth homelessness, and supporting Covenant House’s ambitious Rising to Tomorrow campaign:

“We are proud to work alongside our partners at the NBPA to support Covenant House as they launch Rising to Tomorrow and continue their decades long commitment to ending youth homelessness nationwide and in communities where the NBA and our teams live, work, and play,” said Kathy Behrens, NBA president of social responsibility and player program. “As many continue to be impacted by the pandemic, we know it is more critical than ever that we work to make a difference in the lives of at-risk young people.”

“Our investment in Covenant House reflects our players' commitment to addressing inequities across communities and supporting the organizations that seek to improve the lives of those in need,” said Lyzz Ogunwo, interim executive director of the NBPA Foundation. “We are thrilled to be a part of this united effort to support this important work around homelessness.”

“For eight years, Cisco has been proud to partner with Covenant House as they serve youth overcoming homelessness,” said Fran Katsoudas, chief people, policy & purpose officer at Cisco. “We’ve engaged over 1,600 employees to help Covenant House programs in a wide variety of ways, all with the goal to build a bridge to hope for young people facing homelessness and survivors of human trafficking. We see this Rising to Tomorrow campaign as a new, exciting opportunity to expand our partnership and look forward to working with more of the amazing youth at Covenant House.” 

“Youth homelessness is nothing short of a crisis,” said Strauss Zelnick, chair and CEO of Take-Two Interactive, who along with his spouse, Wendy Belzberg, was instrumental in funding a new, purpose-built facility in New York City which opened in November. “This Rising to Tomorrow initiative stares down the problem of youth homelessness and tackles it head on. If we succeed, we will get more of our most vulnerable youth, children without homes, and survivors of human trafficking out of harm’s way and onto a sustainable path to independence.”

“At Starbucks, we believe it is our responsibility to build bridges and advance equity on behalf of our partners (employees) and communities,” said Virginia Tenpenny, chief social impact officer at Starbucks and board member of The Starbucks Foundation. “Comprehensive support is critical to helping young people experiencing homelessness overcome systemic barriers to transform their lives and achieve sustainable independence. We are proud to work with Covenant House to support this initiative and create career pathways for unsheltered youth.”

"As an active partner in supporting Covenant House’s mission and principles, we know the impact that connecting youth to opportunity can have on the communities we serve,” said Stephanie Lomibao, senior vice president and ESG program manager for Bank of America. “We believe that initiatives like Rising to Tomorrow will advance economic mobility by helping individuals overcome extraordinary barriers. We are proud to be a part of this campaign as we collectively work to end youth homelessness.”

“Our partnership with Covenant House started back in 2012, and we’ve been fortunate to work with young people at Covenant House programs all across the U.S. and in Mexico City,” said Stephanie Asbury, senior vice president – global talent, Delta Air Lines. “We just opened a youth development center at Covenant House New York where youth will have a variety of classes and experiences, including resume writing, music and creative arts, poetry and creative writing, financial literacy and planning. Working with young people as they pursue their dreams continues to be an amazing gift to all of us at Delta Air Lines.”

To join us in the fight to end youth homelessness and support our work to provide over 4 million nights of housing, go to covenanthouse.org/50. 

ABOUT COVENANT HOUSE

Covenant House is the largest primarily privately-funded agency in the Americas providing shelter, food, medical and mental health care, crisis intervention, educational and vocational services, and an array of supportive services to youth facing homelessness regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. For 50 years, Covenant House has served and advocated for youth and young families experiencing homelessness, human trafficking, and exploitation, providing them an environment rooted in unconditional love, absolute respect, and relentless support. Our staff and high-quality programs and services help young people achieve housing stability, heal from trauma, and hone their interests and skills to forge new pathways to independence. Our doors are open 24/7 and this work is carried out across Covenant House sites in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. For more information, go to covenanthouse.org. 

CONTACT

Tom Manning | SVP, Public Relations | tmanning@covenanthouse.org | 845.300.2126