White House to Spotlight Innovative Nonprofit Groups

Four nonprofit groups will discuss the way they are tackling social problems at a White House event today that will include remarks by President Obama.

The president will discuss “the importance of searching outside Washington to find and expand successful community solutions, and challenge foundations and philanthropists to join in this effort,” the White House said in a statement.

While details of the event have not been officially announced, several people who were invited said they believe it will highlight the goals of the new White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.

They said the event will include remarks by:

*Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children’s Zone, an antipoverty group that provides a comprehensive set of educational, medical, and social services in a 100-block area of Harlem. President Obama has proposed developing “promise neighborhoods” across the country modeled after the Harlem project. (Read an article from the Chronicle’s archive about Mr. Canada.)

*Robert Chambers, founder of Bonnie CLAC (Car Loans and Counseling), in New Hampshire, which provides low-interest car loans and financial-literacy training to low-income buyers. Mr. Chambers in 2006 won a $10,000 Purpose Prize, an award that honors people age 60 and above who devise innovative ways to help society. Bonnie CLAC has since expanded from one to eight locations in New Hampshire. (Read an article from the Chronicle archive about Mr. Chambers.)

*Vanessa Nunez, 19, a graduate of a training program offered by Genesys Works, in Houston and St. Paul, which prepares economically disadvantaged high school students for professional jobs.

*Two representatives of HopeLab, in Redwood City, Calif., which uses scientific research to develop technology to help children with chronic illnesses. (Read more about Pam Omidyar, who helped found HopeLab, in an article from the Chronicle’s archive.)

A variety of nonprofit and foundation leaders will attend the event. Civic Ventures, a nonprofit group in San Francisco that sponsors the Purpose Prize, announced that in addition to Mr. Chambers, five other Purpose Prize winners had been invited to attend.