Save Up Program

For a large percentage of Memphis, transportation for low-income residents has been a long-standing barrier to better educational and employment opportunities. The RISE Foundation has continued to tackle this critical issue through its signature program Save Up. This matched savings opportunity helps Save Up program participants purchase moderately priced vehicles either outright or within 12-24 months.  Program participant Ms. Hart joined RISE Save Up through a community partner peer referral. She says that Save Up enabled her to become more disciplined as it relates to saving, budgeting and forecasting her long-term earning potential. According to Ms. Hart, the continuous support she received from her program coordinator nurtured growth in areas she never expected.

The process of purchasing her vehicle was eye-opening and not without challenges. She says that she had to overcome numerous issues when she began the saving process including the onset of the global pandemic. She went through a time of great frustration and stress, due to her position at work changing from full-time to part-time because of COVID-19. Despite it all, she refused to give up on her asset goal, because the purchase of a vehicle was a critical necessity. It was her guarantee to mobility and accessibility to life necessities such as enhanced employment opportunities.

She is still very complimentary of her program coordinator, who she admits continuously applauded her efforts to purchase an automobile, which would finally afford her the empowerment of reliable transportation. In April of 2021, the hard work paid off and Ms. Hart purchased her car. She is so thankful for her vehicle, and the multitude of tangible and intrinsic benefits that come along with it. Now she has the ability to accept a better job outside of her neighborhood, backed by the confidence that she has her transportation concerns eliminated.  

Your donations to the RISE Foundation help families to make better financial choices for themselves that are life altering and opens possibilities for them that they could never have imagined.  Please consider a gift today towards a RISE program like Save Up.