CHICAGO, May 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines announced today a total of $8 million in grants to help address pressing issues identified by local leadership in each of its hub market communities – Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Newark/New York and Washington, D.C. The announcement represents United's commitment to invest in and lift up the communities where many of its customers and employees live and work.

In its inaugural announcement today in Chicago, United shared that it will work with the nonprofit Year Up to help close the "Opportunity Divide." This grant for $1 million to Year Up in Chicago will enable the organization to provide hundreds of additional motivated and talented young adults in Chicago with in-demand technical and professional skills training, hands-on corporate internship experience at top companies including United, college credits and support necessary to achieve upward economic mobility and access to meaningful careers in just one year.

United's investment in Year Up Chicago is expected to grow the program's reach by 25 percent while also contributing to launching a second campus in connection with Harold Washington College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago and the City of Chicago.

"Connecting our customers to the moments that matter most goes well beyond getting them from point A to point B," said Oscar Munoz, United's chief executive officer. "We have the opportunity to make lasting, measurable change. We are proud to do our part to help our home here in Chicago and are excited to share more with each of our hub communities over the coming weeks."

"Here in Cook County, more than 94,000 young adults are out of work and out of school, disconnected from the economic mainstream," said Jack Crowe, Year Up Chicago's executive director. "With United Airlines' help, Year Up Chicago will be able to accelerate its expansion, strengthening our communities and Chicago as a whole."

Following today's announcement, United will be joining local community and city leadership in all of its domestic hub markets over the coming weeks to announce additional community grants. In each community, United worked with city leadership to identify a unique area of critical needs in the city as part of its larger efforts to lift up communities in crisis.

Throughout these four-year grants, United will work hand-in-hand with local organizations and engage with city and community leadership to create profound, sustainable advancements. Future announcements will include grant recipients in New York/New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; Houston; Denver; Los Angeles and San Francisco.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,600 flights a day to 354 airports across five continents. In 2017, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 148 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 750 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 545 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 191 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "UAL".

About Year Up

Year Up is an award-winning, national 501(c)3 organization that provides talented and motivated young adults ages 18-24 with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Through a one-year, intensive training program, Year Up utilizes a high support, high expectations model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, coursework eligible for college credit, and corporate internships at more than 250 top companies. Its holistic approach focuses on students' professional and personal development to enable young adults with a viable path to economic self-sufficiency and meaningful careers. Year Up has served more than 19,500 young adults since its founding in 2000, and will serve more than 4,000 young adults in 2018 across 21 U.S. cities in Arizona, Baltimore, Bay Area, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Greater Atlanta, Greater Boston, Greater Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, National Capital Region, New York City, Providence, Puget Sound, South Florida and Wilmington. Year Up has been voted one of the "Best Non-Profits to Work For" by The NonProfit Times for eight consecutive years, and rated a 4-star charity by Charity Navigator for twelve consecutive years, placing them in the top 1% of tracked organizations.

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SOURCE United Airlines