HEBREW FREE LOAN SOCIETY CELEBRATED A MAJOR MILESTONE OF AWARDING $220 MILLION IN INTEREST-FREE LOANS TO RESIDENTS OF THE NEW YORK METRO AREA

NEW YORK, NY (June 1, 2010) The Hebrew Free Loan Society (HFLS), an organization that provides interest-free loans to individuals to help them achieve economic independence, has reached a significant loan milestone. Since its inception in 1892, HFLS has provided more than $220,000,000 in interest-free loans to more than 865,000 borrowers with less than a 1% default rate. HFLS celebrated its achievements at the “Generations of Leadership” benefit on Monday, May 24, 2010, featuring Robert M. Morgenthau as the guest speaker, and honoring New York’s Durst, Golden and Gribetz families for their generations of commitment and support of HFLS.

“Especially in today’s challenging economic environment, low- and moderate-income people need access to monetary assistance to cope with job loss, start a small business, or even adopt a child,” says Executive Director of HFLS, Shana Novick. “With a quarter of a million Jewish New Yorkers living in poor households, our mission is to provide interest-free loan assistance to those in need so that families and communities can not only avoid financial hardship, but achieve dreams they never thought were possible.”  -

Examples of how HFLS helped loan recipients rebound from the Great Recession, expand a business and adopt children are included below:

• Yelena arrived in New York from Kharkov, Ukraine, in 1993 as a young divorcee with a two-year-old child. For 11 years, she worked at a major bank where she achieved a high degree of financial independence. In late 2008, Yelena was laid off and resorted to credit cards in order to cover her basic expenses. Thanks to a $5,000 loan, Yelena was able pay off her high-interest credit card debt.  After being unemployed for approximately 11 months she landed a new job in the nonprofit sector and will be able to repay the Society in less than two years even on her sharply reduced new salary,
• Rafail and his wife Olga immigrated to New York in 2002 from Uzbekistan. In 2008, they poured their life savings into the purchase of a Russian grocery store. Recognizing the need for financial assistance to efficiently run the store, they turned to the Society for a $25,000 loan. Due to their hard work and initiative, the family is on the road to economic security and currently run a thriving business.
• After five years of trying to conceive, David and Michele were eager to begin the adoption process, but they had spent most of their savings on infertility treatments and faced $30,000 in adoption costs. Thanks to the Society’s Adoption Loan Program, they were able to borrow $15,000 for adoption expenses and adopted a daughter. Soon after, they adopted her biological cousin with a second loan.

To celebrate all of its success stories in the New York community, the HFLS hosted its first annual fundraising benefit. Held at the Jewish Heritage Museum on Monday, May 24, 2010, this year’s benefit featured the Honorable Robert M. Morgenthau and honored the Durst, Golden and Gribetz families in celebration of reaching the organization’s loan milestone.

About the Hebrew Free Loan Society:  The Hebrew Free Loan Society, founded in 1892, makes interest-free loans for philanthropic purposes throughout the New York metropolitan area. Its goal is to provide financial assistance that helps borrowers achieve and maintain economic self- sufficiency. HFLS make loans on a nonsectarian basis where the availability of interest-free credit will make a significant difference in an individual's or family's life. HFLS is a beneficiary agency of UJA-Federation of New York.

Contact:

Jessica Rosen

RF|Binder Partners, Inc

212-994-7522

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Amanda Rubin

RF|Binder Partners, Inc

212-994-7539

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