“We have a long history of diversity, customer service and cultural responsibility. Wells Fargo can only be strong if our community is strong,” said Michelle Thornton, the senior vice president of diverse segments and enterprise marketing for Wells Fargo. “Houston is one of the strategic markets to serve the African American community and spread the word about what Wells Fargo has to offer. For the next several months, we will continue to travel to introduce to some, and reintroduce to others, Wells Fargo, and show them [how] success with us will help them succeed financially and leave a strong financial legacy.”
Wells Fargo, Thornton said, will visit several major markets in the near future to discuss how their campaign will benefit the community in four main ways:
1. To discuss who Wells Fargo is today and what the bank’s plans are for the next several months;
2. Financial education;
3. Small business development;
4. And community involvement.
In fact, it was at the NABA conference that Wells Fargo facilitated financial education workshops at Texas Southern University today. Harvey Catchings, a reverse mortgage consultant at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, said financial literacy is not just a privilege, it is practically mandatory as the nation — and particularly African American families — continue to scrabble through precarious economic conditions.
“Being able to have someone talk to them about different options is definitely something that I think is clearly needed in our society,” Catchings said. “Now people have to be a little bit more strategic.”
Wells Fargo has demonstrated unequivocally that they are willing to put their money where their mouths are. The Wells Fargo Foundation provided $100,000 to Operation HOPE in its “Silver Rights” movement aimed at empowering underserved communities and educating local youth in Los Angeles. The investment will aid in financial literacy and provide volunteers to administer HOPE’s financial literacy program, Banking on Our Future, throughout metropolitan Los Angeles.
–terry shropshire
