Guiding Light Receives $25,000 Donation from TCF

Guiding Light has received a $25,000 donation from TCF Financial Corp. to support its Back to Work program.

The Grand Rapids-based nonprofit will use the donation to re-establish its Emergency Assistance Fund, which has been depleted due to extra expenses related to COVID-19. The fund enables Guiding Light to purchase uniforms, steel-toed boots, tools and bus passes for men enrolled in Back to Work, who are trying to pay down debt and return to independence.

Guiding Light also provides a safe place for the men to live, along with their meals, for the first four months, as well as financial support for first month’s rent and deposits after they transition to an independent apartment or house. During 2019, 336 men went through the Back to Work program. When they arrived at Guiding Light, the average debt per man, not including child support, was $10,127.

“We are grateful to TCF for its support of the men in our Back to Work program,” said Stuart P. Ray, Guiding Light executive director. “Those we serve face significant barriers to finding and keeping full-time work, such as extensive debt, lack of reliable transportation and no place to call home. All this has been exacerbated by the global pandemic, which has thrown tens of thousands of Michiganders out of work. 

“Our goal is to help these men get off the streets and on a payroll by connecting them with meaningful long-term employment. We provide these services free of charge, thanks to the generous support of community-minded organizations like TCF, who see the importance and value of the work we do.”

Headquartered in Detroit with branches throughout West Michigan, TCF is a premier Midwest bank that offers consumer and commercial banking, trust and wealth management, and specialty leasing and leading products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients.

“TCF is a purpose-driven company, passionate about building stronger individuals, businesses and communities,” said Emmanuel Glover, TCF senior vice president, director of community development. “TCF’s Community Impact Fund supports local organizations because we know that together, we can do even more good in the communities where we live and serve. TCF is proud to make this donation to Guiding Light, which provides critical resources to local residents through the Back to Work Program.”

Men in Guiding Light’s Back to Work program are given shelter, meals and all the tools and resources needed to safely find a job, including access to computers for job research and creating resumes, job coaching, life skill courses, budgeting guidance and other essentials for success.  

Enhanced safety protocols help safeguard men in the program from the spread of COVID-19 as they re-enter the workplace. The Back to Work program has implemented a travel verification process to limit travel and trace where the men have been should an outbreak occur. Men seeking to enroll in the program must also be tested for COVID-19 as part of the intake process, along with passing a drug test and background check.

For more information, visit guidinglightworks.org or contact Starla McDermott at [email protected] to make a donation.