Habitat For Humanity Teams Up with PG&E to Revitalize Underserved Neighborhoods

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Habitat for Humanity announced a new program today that will help bring the utility's talent, technology and resources to help revive neighborhoods in need in San Francisco, the East Bay and Bakersfield. The program will provide funding and expertise towards weatherization, energy efficiency retrofits and employee volunteer support of neighborhood improvement projects. The announcement was made at the Bayview Hunters Point YMCA in San Francisco where volunteers began restoration efforts made possible through a $300,000 donation from PG&E to Habitat for Humanity's new Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. This initiative is part of the utility's Solar Habitat Program, which provides solar power to Habitat homes built in Northern and Central California.

"Habitat's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative relies on partnership with other organizations and community members to solve a variety of concerns faced by communities hit hardest by the economic crisis throughout the country," said Phillip Kilbridge, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. "With the support of great partners like PG&E and the Bayview Hunters Point YMCA, we are able to work with families and neighborhood organizations and to move our work past the sidewalks in front of the homes that we construct and into the communities in which we build."

The Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative will rehabilitate and renovate facilities and homes with a focus on improving the neighborhood's environment, whether it be repairing a roof, refurbishing a youth center, or helping to create a community garden. These types of projects help transform underserved neighborhoods into vibrant places to live.

"PG&E is proud to make this renovation possible for Bayview Hunters Point YMCA, a place that's vital to the health and vibrancy of this community," said Karen Austin, senior vice president and chief information officer for PG&E and a YMCA San Francisco board member. "Through our flagship Solar Habitat Program, PG&E and Habitat for Humanity are bringing clean, renewable and affordable energy to homes and neighborhoods across PG&E's service area, particularly to those that historically have been underserved and overlooked. Together, we're building a brighter future for the people we serve."

Since the inception of the company's Solar Habitat Program in 2007, PG&E has donated more than $6.4 million to help respond to the housing needs of families in Northern and Central California and has assisted in the construction of 416 solar-powered Habitat homes. The partnership is further supported by the thousands of PG&E volunteers that have come together at Habitat build sites and community restoration projects, including the Bayview Hunters Point YMCA.

"The Bayview Hunters Point YMCA is tremendously thankful for the support from PG&E and Habitat for Humanity," said Chuck Collins, president and chief executive officer, YMCA San Francisco. "With this new Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, PG&E and Habitat are ensuring that our communities are more livable, healthy and safe. Their generous support to the Y has provided much needed renovations for vital community centers such as ours and we cannot thank them enough."

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/ and www.pgecurrents.com.

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco partners with working families and the community to build affordable ownership homes in Marin, San Francisco and the Peninsula. Providing a unique solution to the local housing crisis, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco has enabled more than 200 families to purchase affordable homes since 1989. For more information, or to donate or volunteer, visit HabitatGSF.org.

The YMCA of San Francisco makes accessible the support and opportunities that empower people and communities to learn, grow and become healthy.  With a focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, the Y nurtures the potential of every youth and teen, improves the San Francisco Bay Area's health and well-being, and provides opportunities to give back and support neighbors.

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)