Apartments.com Donates $35,000 To Help End Homelessness Through Their Second Annual "Raising Awareness. Taking Action: A Campaign to Help End Homelessness"

CHICAGO, Jan. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Apartments.com presented checks for $12,500 to People Serving People of Minneapolis, MN and Vogel Alcove of Dallas, TX, as well as a $10,000 check to The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, at the culmination of their second annual "Raising Awareness. Taking Action: A Campaign to Help End Homelessness" Facebook initiative.  As part of the campaign, Apartments.com promised to donate $1 to be shared equally between People Serving People and Vogel Alcove for every new "LIKE" it received on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Apartments.com) from November 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012. While not an official recipient of the 2012 campaign, The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless was presented a $10,000 check at the culmination of the initiative, in recognition for their partnership during the inaugural Apartments.com campaign in 2011.

"We are thrilled to have been able to support People Serving People and Vogel Alcove as part of our second annual campaign, and to be able to recognize The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, who was our first partner in this effort," said Dick Burke, senior vice president and general manager of Apartments.com.  "In every aspect this year's campaign was a true success, generating a lot of support for the organizations we identified to receive the donations not only on Facebook, but across all social media channels and in the news. We realize our contributions by themselves won't bring an end to homelessness, however, we hope it helps these fine organizations to be able to continue the monumental good they do each and every day."

These organizations were identified as the beneficiaries of this year's campaign based on the outstanding services they provide to help people affected by homelessness in their individual cities. People Serving People was selected because of the emergency shelter they provide to 99 homeless families every night in Hennepin County. Located in Downtown Minneapolis, People Serving People's 10-story building is essentially a hotel whose primary form of hospitality comes in helping families to overcome homelessness. Vogel Alcove was selected because of the outstanding free quality child development services they provide for Dallas' youngest victims of poverty: homeless children 6 weeks to 5 years old. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless was founded over 30 years ago on one simple premise: that in a just society, housing is a human right.  The organization works with families, youths and adults, advocating to better lives through access to shelter, housing, jobs and schools.

Apartments.com committed to making a $1 donation for every new "LIKE" received on their Facebook page on behalf of the people who participated between November 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012, up to a maximum of $25,000, to be divided equally between People Serving People of Minneapolis, MN and Vogel Alcove of Dallas, TX. Participants were not required to make any financial contribution, just simply visit (www.facebook.com/Apartments.com) and click "LIKE" before December 31, 2012 to have $1 donated, on their behalf, to help end homelessness. The additional $10,000 donation made to The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless was presented above and beyond the promised campaign donation.

About People Serving People
People Serving People provides emergency shelter to 99 homeless families every night in Hennepin County. Located in Downtown Minneapolis, this 10-story building is essentially a hotel whose primary form of hospitality comes in helping families to overcome homelessness. Families come to the shelter because of landlord foreclosures, job loss, financial crisis, evictions, overwhelming medical expenses, etc. – and they leave with stronger community connections, dedicated advocates, employment, stable housing, and a chance at a better future. The heart and soul of People Serving People's work is the time spent on strengthening the futures of the 200+ children at the shelter every day – through early childhood education, healthy meals, volunteer readers and tutors, healthcare, family activities, school transportation, and stabilization of family life. Everyone deserves to have a place to call home – and People Serving People depends on the community's support to help families find their way home. Visit them on the web www.peopleservingpeople.org for more information.

About Vogel Alcove
Vogel Alcove is a free therapeutic early childhood education center serving Dallas' youngest victims of poverty: homeless children ages six weeks to five years old. Vogel Alcove offers homeless parents a safe and nurturing place to leave their young children while they work to rebuild their lives.  With a capacity of 115 children daily, Vogel Alcove serves homeless children living in one of 22 affiliate programs which include homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, transitional housing programs, and community resources for homeless families.  The Alcove's services include early childhood education using developmentally-appropriate, research-based curriculum and assessment tools; screenings to check for developmental delays and/or disorders, and intervention if necessary (including speech, occupational, and physical therapy); nutritious home cooked meals using a USDA-certified menu; clinical case management for families; an early childhood mental health specialist to  address the mental, social and emotional needs of the children; access to medical and dental care; and an on-site Community Resource Center to provide families with everything they may need to assist in their recovery from homelessness and family violence. For more information visit www.vogelalcove.org.

About Apartments.com
Apartments.com (http://www.apartments.com) is a leading national apartment Internet listing subscription service with more than 50,000 unique addresses representing millions of rental units from managed properties, newspaper classifieds and for-rent-by-owner properties. By incorporating the most relevant products to reach renters, including personalized searches and highly-visual ads featuring live chat, real-time rent, online video walk-through demonstrations, professional photography, a mobile website and iPhone and Android apps, Apartments.com creates easy access to its listings. Providing unmatched exposure to its advertisers through an intuitive name, strategic search engine placements and featured partnerships and more than 120 newspaper websites and innovative emerging media, Apartments.com reaches millions of renters nationwide, driving both qualified traffic and highly-engaged renters to leasing offices across the country. Apartments.com is a division of Chicago-based Classified Ventures, LLC. The Apartments.com network of apartment rental websites includes Apartment Home Living (http://www.apartmenthomeliving.com), a leading social media apartment website distinguished by a "live for fun" community experience, proprietary lifestyle matching and local living guides to help renters find their perfect place to live; Rental Homes Plus (http://www.rentalhomesplus.com), an online destination where house hunters who prefer to rent can choose from a robust inventory of houses, condos, town houses, duplexes and apartments from around the country; and Rentfish (http://www.rentfish.com), a national apartment website offering customizable searches by neighborhood, favorite coffee spot, sports arena, famous landmark and more.

SOURCE Apartments.com