HomeAid Concludes a Month of Events to Raise Hunger and Homelessness Awareness
National Charity Works to Reduce the Plight of the 3.5 Million Homeless
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Dec. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- HomeAid America, a building industry charity and one of the nation's largest builders of housing for the homeless, spent the month of November bringing attention to, and addressing the tragedy of homelessness that in the past year affected over 3.5 million Americans.
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"It was an inspirational and critical month in the fight against homelessness at HomeAid as we tried our best to focus attention on the pressing issue of homelessness nationwide," said Peter Simons, CEO of HomeAid America, the national charity that was founded 25 years ago as a way for the building industry to give back to the community by addressing the issue of homelessness. "We conducted activities involving hundreds of volunteers in all of our 15 markets, including food and clothing drives, shelter remodeling and public advocacy."
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (HHAW) was November 16-24th and it provided a venue to focus on this problem and take action on solutions. "At HomeAid, the events and activities held were intended to raise consciousness on this issue and show how widespread, and yet fixable it is. I think we achieved this, through the hard work of our chapters and the hundreds of volunteers who got involved. It was very heartwarming to see so many come together for this cause," said Simons.
One of HomeAid's largest national partners, Bank of America, was actively involved during this week with activities in 8 cities. "The bank has been an incredible partner for HomeAid for over a decade now, providing us more than $2 million of support and thousands of volunteer hours. This month's commemoration of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week was a great opportunity for us to work with them closely on volunteer activities," said Simons. Some of these included:
--HomeAid Orange County and Bank of America employee volunteers made 800 personal hygiene CareKits which were given to an emergency shelter in Santa Ana. They also put together 200 care kits that include hygiene items, plus a bottle of water, food bar and resource card. The group also volunteered at the shelter on November 18th.
--HomeAid Portland and their Bank of America employee volunteers assembled more than 2,500 hygiene CareKits in 2014, and many of these were completed during HHAW. These care kits went out across the Portland area to support Goose Hollow Family Shelter, Human Solutions, Portland Rescue Mission, and Good Neighbor Center. Bank of America employees have put in over 100 volunteer hours with the Home Builders Foundation-HomeAid Portland since this time last year.
Some other examples of the impact HomeAid made during HHAW in November included:
--HomeAid Sacramento's Spread the Warmth blanket drive received over 400 blankets that were delivered to the Volunteers of America's Bannon Family Shelter, Mary House at Loaves and Fishes and Next Move's Family Shelter. Partners included Better Homes and Garden Real Estate, National Charity League, Meritage Homes, DeMattei Real Estate Team, Beutler Corporation, WinSol Groundworks, Fidelity National Title Company and Lily's Brownie Troop 339.
--HomeAid Atlanta partnered with 200 BOMA Georgia volunteers to assist Covenant House Georgia. Work included parking lot paving and striping, electrical repair, building of a veranda, enclosing a green house, painting, tree trimming, floor care, large landscaping projects, pressure washing, organizing supply closets, sorting donated books, and general clean up. BOMA Georgia's member companies participated through sponsorships, securing supplies, and volunteering.
--HomeAid Houston unveiled the Picture This Homeless Teen exhibit, featuring photographs taken by homeless youth in the Houston area ranging in age from 16 to their early 20s. The photographs are powerful images of street life and the narratives were raw, unedited works that were also displayed with their photographs.
For a complete listing of HomeAid HHAW events, visit http://www.homeaid.org/hhawideas.
ABOUT HOMEAID AMERICA
HomeAid is a leading national non-profit provider of housing for homeless families and individuals, founded in Southern California in 1989 and celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2014. Through the generosity of builders, their trades and their suppliers, HomeAid has completed nearly 400 housing projects nationwide at a value of more than $200 million, of which nearly 50 percent has been donated by the building industry. HomeAid currently has 25 additional projects in development across the country. HomeAid has added over 7,500 beds in facilities helping the homeless through HomeAid's network of 15 active chapters in 10 states across the country. For more information about HomeAid, call 1-888-3HOMEAID or visit www.homeaid.org.
Press Contacts:
Peter Simons
CEO—HomeAid America
Email
720.490.1900
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SOURCE HomeAid America
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