WASHINGTON, June 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines announced today a $1 million grant to the Year Up National Capital Region to provide professional skills and transportation resources to the students in the program. The announcement represents United's commitment to invest in and lift up the communities where many of its customers and employees live and work.

At its Washington Dulles hub, United shared that it will work with the nonprofit organization Year Up to help close the "Opportunity Divide," specifically addressing the main barriers to the organization's program participants in the capital region: transportation and examination fees. By providing needed stipends and shuttle transportation from Year Up locations to internships and training opportunities in the region that would be difficult to reach without a personal vehicle, this grant will enable Year Up to provide motivated and talented young adults with technical and professional skills training to achieve upward economic mobility and access to meaningful careers within one year.

"Lifting up communities to provide a better life for our fellow citizens and brighter future for all people is at the heart of what we do at United to give back, which is why this partnership is fitting," said Sharon Grant, United Vice President of Community Affairs. "We are proud to provide the resources Year Up needs in securing a brighter future for youth in the National Capital Region."

"More than 40 percent of our young adults face transportation challenges, and this grant will allow us to provide more transportation resources at all stages of the program, as well as deepen other student services support," said Guylaine Saint Juste, Executive Director of Year Up National Capital Region. "The generous grant from United Airlines will be able provide our students with more resources and remove barriers to their success."

Nearly 100 United Airlines employees based at Washington Dulles and Year Up students from around the region attended today's $1 million event. Following the announcement, Year Up students paired up with United employees for one-on-one mentoring, career coaching and a tour of the airfield and a 767 aircraft.

"The United Dulles hub has a long history of helping the communities we serve. Today's announcement underscores the importance of taking the lead to partner with local organizations like Year Up to make a meaningful impact in the region," said Omar Idris, Managing Director, United's Washington Dulles hub. "We hope that our efforts to immerse students into the airline industry will encourage and motivate them to dream big."

Today's event is the third in a series of announcements United is making in all of its domestic hub markets over the coming weeks. Each grant is part of a total of $8 million in grants to help address pressing issues identified by local leadership in each of its domestic hub market communities – Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Newark/New York. The announcement represents United's commitment to invest in and lift up the communities where many of its customers and employees live and work.

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; 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