START Now! (Start Taking Action and Responsibility Together Now!) is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

non-profit organization designed to help individuals and families become self-sufficient by educating them and providing them with the support and opportunities available in society and allowing them to become thriving members of the community. Founded by Financial Services Executive Chris Meek, START Now! holds events, trainings, and workshops to help facilitate the building of a skill set to be successful.

History

In April 2009, founder Chris Meek held his first in a series of loan modification events at the Yerwood Center. in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

. The event consisted of five banks and several agencies offering foreclosure assistance. The program enabled 36 families to modify their mortgage, avoid going into foreclosure and losing their homes. The success and public request for more programs led Meek to create the not-for-profit START Now! in May 2009. Subsequent loan modification events were held in May 2009, again at the Yerwood Center, August 2009 at the

Connecticut State Capitol The Connecticut State Capitol is located north of Capitol Avenue and south of Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. The building houses the Connecticut General Assembly; the upper house, the Connecticut Sen ...

, April 2010 at FSW, Inc. in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

, October 2010 at the Yerwood Center, November 2010 at

Western Connecticut State University Western Connecticut State University (WCSU and WestConn) is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1903 as a teacher's college and is part of the Connecticut State University System. WCSU consists of four schools: the A ...

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2020 was 86,518. It is the third-largest city in Western Connecticut, and the seventh-largest ...

with several additional events since. The program has grown to include major banks such as

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

JP Morgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is the largest bank in the United States, and the world's largest bank by mark ...

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

, and CitiMortgage (

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

). Regional banks such as Webster,

People's United Bank People's United Financial, Inc., was an American bank holding company that owned People's United Bank. The bank operated 403 branches in Connecticut, southeastern New York State, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire. It was the seco ...

and

NewAlliance Bank NewAlliance Bancshares, doing business as NewAlliance Bank, was the second largest Connecticut-based savings bank. It was formed in 2004 through the union of The Savings Bank of Manchester, New Haven Savings Bank, and Tolland Bank. First Niagara ...

and agencies like the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority., Urban League of Southwestern Connecticut.,

Money Management International Money Management International (MMI) is a United States non-profit that provides consumers with free credit counseling Credit counseling (known in the United Kingdom as debt counseling) is a process used to help individual debtors overcome their ...

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...

, the Housing Development Fund., Mutual Housing Association of Southwestern Connecticut, and Mediation Specialists from the Fairfield Judicial District have all participated. START Now! also holds job readiness workshops helping participants prepare resumes and cover letters, learn how to apply for jobs online and hone their interviewing skills through videotaping mock interviews. The organization also hosted a Green Jobs Fair in conjunction with

Norwalk Community College CT State Community College Norwalk, formerly Norwalk Community College (NCC), Norwalk State Technical College and Norwalk Community-Technical College, is a public community college in Norwalk, Connecticut. It is the third-largest of the twelve c ...

. To date, the program has shown both success and growth, having helped over 250 people and banks avoid foreclosure.

Partnerships

Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the New York (state), State of New York, the 12 norther ...

Chase Chase or CHASE may refer to: Businesses * Chase Bank, a national American financial institution * Chase UK, a British retail bank * Chase Aircraft (1943–1954), a defunct American aircraft manufacturer * Chase Coaches, a defunct bus operator in ...

* Webster Bank

References

External links

START Now!
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726220613/http://www.startnowct.org/ , date=2011-07-26 Charities based in Connecticut Organizations based in Stamford, Connecticut Organizations established in 2009 2009 establishments in Connecticut