Newland Communities Named Founding Sponsor of HomeAid on Wheels (HOW), a new national program for HomeAid America
Irvine, Calif. - June 12, 2012 - Newland Communities continues their long-standing support for HomeAid America as the founding sponsor of the new "HomeAid on Wheels" (HOW) program. HOW, also funded by Cisco Systems, and an anonymous foundation will expand HomeAid's capacity to deliver dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives. This latest commitment from Newland Communities follows more than five years of support and over $600,000 in contributions to HomeAid America and it chapters across the country.
With more than 2.5 million Americans experiencing homelessness each year, HomeAid's CEO Jeffrey Slavin saw this as a call to action to create a program with a geographical footprint beyond the scope of HomeAid Chapters, one that can help thousands more people move toward self-sufficiency. "With the funding provided by Newland Communities, HomeAid was able to successfully move forward and launch HOW", said Slavin.
The philosophy of HOW is to successfully work with homebuilders and building industry associations in communities without HomeAid chapters to either enhance or build one-off shelter projects using HomeAid's proven Shelter Development Program. The program will offer a multi-day training session in the HomeAid Shelter Development Program, followed by HomeAid's availability to identify and work with local builders and their trade partners to deliver in-kind donations of labor and materials. The unique program cultivates relationships between nonprofit homeless service providers and the building industry that will benefit the community, the building company, and the organization that receives their support.
Newland is proud to announce that the first two projects under the HOW program will be in Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas. Newland's support has enabled HOW to partner with Shea Homes to implement environmental and cost saving measures for Sojourner Center, the largest domestic violence shelter in the United States. This project is also funded by an Environmental Sustainability Program grant from the Walmart Foundation and will ultimately save Sojourner Center in excess of $20,000 annually on energy expenses.
The second project supported by HomeAid On Wheels will benefit the Texas Baptist Children's Home (TBCH) in Round Rock Texas. Ryland Homes has agreed to become a pro-bono builder captain adding a new 7,100 square foot cottage to the TBCH Family Care Program for homeless women and children. The cottage, designed to have a home-like environment, will host up to five families at a time with an average stay ranging from between three months to two years per family.
"We see HOW as a means of expanding the HomeAid America program to help thousands more people get back on their feet and lead more self-sufficient lives," said Teri Slavik Tsuyuki, Senior Vice president and Chief Marketing Officer, Newland Communities. In addition to supporting HOW, Newland Communities' employees participate in HomeAid activities as board/committee members and as volunteers at local HomeAid Chapters. Newland employees bring their professional and personal expertise to HomeAid Chapters by providing resources to projects in the areas of land acquisition, pre-development and marketing and public relations. They also serve as counselors to the young, advisors to the needy and experts to the disadvantaged. The result of their local involvement has positively impacted HomeAid America's core Shelter Development Program, so that many more homeless families can have safe places to live.
About HomeAid:
HomeAid is a leading national non-profit provider of housing for homeless families and individuals. Through the generosity of builders, their trades and their suppliers, HomeAid has completed 275 housing projects nationwide at a cost of more than $178 million, of which nearly fifty percent has been donated by the building industry. HomeAid currently has 40 additional projects in development. HomeAid's facilities offer 2,200,000 bed-nights annually through HomeAid's network of 18 active chapters in 12 states. For more information about HomeAid, call 1-888-3HOMEAID or visit www.homeaid.org. About Newland Communities
Newland Real Estate Group, LLC.
Newland is a diversified real estate company leveraging a national platform and over 40 years of experience to perform challenging and diverse development, investment, management, and advisory services across a wide range of real estate. The company's mixed-use development business, Newland Communities, actively owns, operates and develops premier residential master-planned, commercial, retail, and urban mixed-use real estate across the U.S. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Newland and its affiliated companies have completed, or have underway, more than 140 diverse real estate developments, more than 20 million square feet of commercial and retail space, and 175,000 residential units in 14 states. For more information, please visit www.newlandcommunities.com. Please contact Pam Herman for further information, pherman@homeaid.org, 916-217-0850.
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