BlackLine CEO And Employees Pledge To Provide New Clothing To 50,000+ Who Are Homeless In Los Angeles This Holiday Season

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackLine, Inc. (Nasdaq: BL) CEO Therese Tucker and the company's employees are leading a drive to provide each homeless person in Los Angeles (LA) with new clothing this holiday season.  With estimates suggesting there are at least 50,000 people currently without homes in LA County, Ms. Tucker's initiative is among the most ambitious hands-on examples of a local tech company working to build a more civic-minded and philanthropic LA tech community.

Tucker and BlackLine are working closely with Shelter Partnership, a local organization that will oversee the distribution over the next two months of more than 180,000 essential items to hundreds of non-profit agencies that serve veterans, domestic violence victims, families living in poverty and disabled individuals throughout the region.  

"The donation of seven semi-trucks full of sweat pants, sweat shirts, undergarments and socks by Therese will serve tens of thousands of individuals in need," states Ruth Schwartz, executive director, Shelter Partnership.  "We are so appreciative of this very generous contribution of critical items for homeless individuals in LA."

BlackLine held its annual Giving Back Day on Saturday, Nov. 18^th, as part of the financial automation software provider's global user conference InTheBlack North America 2017: The Accounting & Finance Innovation Summit.  Giving Back Day is designed to bring BlackLine customers, partners and employees together each year to contribute to the local community.  This year, the group participated in United Way's HomeWalk LA 2017, an annual rally to fight homelessness, the morning of the 18^th and then proceeded to Midnight Mission in downtown LA where they served food and began handing out the new sweat shirts and pants, socks and undergarments being donated by Tucker. 

"When companies like BlackLine join the fight to bring hope to homeless Angelenos, we move another step closer to getting people off the streets for good," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.  "The homelessness crisis is a heartbreaking human tragedy, but partnerships like this one show how we can work together to end it."

BlackLine kicked off the initiative on Saturday, Nov. 4^th, at Union Rescue Mission in downtown LA where employees and their families also handed out clothing to those in need. 

"Every person should have something warm and clean to wear as winter approaches.  We know that reaching 50,000 people will be a huge challenge, and we hope that efficient distribution will help us achieve our goal," said Tucker.  "We realize homelessness is a complex issue that can't be solved overnight, nor can we alleviate suffering through a single donation.  It's important that we take time to come together to serve our community by doing something practical and hands-on.  We encourage other business leaders in the region to help as well."

Further demonstrating her commitment to helping the homeless in her community, Tucker also dedicated a panel at BlackLine's annual user conference to the issue.  Ana Guerrero, chief of staff to Mayor Eric Garcetti, joined Tucker on stage for the discussion, along with Ann Sewill, vice president of Health and Housing at the California Community Foundation, another organization that partnered with Tucker and BlackLine to support the clothing donation.

"Therese Tucker is passionate about and committed to helping solve the immediate – and long-term – needs facing our homeless neighbors," Ms. Sewill said.  "Through this initiative, she has created an opportunity for BlackLine employees and partners to have a tangible way to give back to the community in a meaningful way."

Photos from BlackLine's 2017 Giving Back Day project can be downloaded at the following:

• BlackLine employees preparing part of the clothing donation
• BlackLine CEO Therese Tucker
• Group shot of BlackLine employees at The Midnight Mission

About BlackLine

BlackLine is a provider of cloud-based solutions that transform Finance and Accounting (F&A) by automating, centralizing and streamlining financial close operations, intercompany accounting processes and other key F&A processes for large and midsize organizations.  Designed to complement virtually all ERP and other financial systems including SAP, Oracle and NetSuite, BlackLine increases operational efficiency, real-time visibility, control and compliance to ensure end-to-end financial close management and accounting automation from within a single, unified cloud platform.

Enabling customers to move beyond outdated processes and point solutions to a Continuous Accounting model, in which real-time automation, controls and period-end tasks are embedded within day-to-day activities, BlackLine helps companies modernize accounting operations with intelligent automation, ensuring more accurate and insightful financial statements and a more efficient financial close.  More than 2,000 companies with users in over 130 countries around the world trust BlackLine to help ensure balance sheet integrity and confidence in their financial statements. 

BlackLine is recognized by Gartner as a Leader in its 2017 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Financial Corporate Performance Management (FCPM) and as a pioneer in the cloud market for enhanced financial control and automation of FCPM.

Based in Los Angeles, BlackLine also has regional headquarters in London, Singapore and Sydney. For more information, please visit www.blackline.com.

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SOURCE BlackLine