Students in Affordable Housing Receive Scholarships from Aimco and NLHA

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2013  /PRNewswire/ -- Thirty students living in affordable housing will attend college this fall with the help of an Aimco Cares Opportunity Scholarship, established by Apartment Investment and Management Company (Aimco) and granted through the National Leased Housing Association (NLHA) Education Fund.

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Patti Shwayder, Aimco Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Communications, announced the winners at the NLHA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. last week, and presented awards to six students who were in attendance:  Yu Xi Chen and Dazhi Yu who live at Wah Luck House in Washington, D.C.; Aisha Farooq who resides at Courthouse Apartments in Arlington, Virginia;  Rayquise Jackson of Baltimore, Maryland;  Rosemary Miranda of Foxchase Apartments in Alexandria, Virginia; and Melaku Misikir from The Bennington in Silver Spring, Maryland.

"The Aimco Cares Opportunity Scholarship is designed to help exceptional students fulfill their dream of higher education – students who otherwise might not see college as financially feasible," said Shwayder.  "Since it was established three years ago, we have awarded Aimco Cares grants to 104 students with outstanding ambition and amazing potential. Supporting education and giving back to our communities are goals of our philanthropic program Aimco Cares. The scholarship program also reflects Aimco's culture as we strive to create moments that matter and seek opportunities to make a difference for our residents."

"The NLHA Education Fund's success is due in large part to the generosity of Aimco Cares, which has helped NLHA meet our goal of helping low income students achieve self-sufficiency through education," said NLHA Executive Director Denise Muha.

Chen, who is an Aimco resident and the son of Chinese immigrants, will be attending the University of Maryland to study engineering with a long-term goal of becoming an electrical engineer.  Farooq will study business and pre-med at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virgina.  Jackson will attend Stevenson University in Owings Mill, Maryland, with a dream of helping urban teenagers.  A native of Ethiopia, Misikir will be completing her nursing degree at Washington Adventist University while continuing to care for her family of five.  Miranda, an Aimco resident, will start her college career this fall at Northern Virginia Community College's Alexandria Campus in the health promotion-corporate wellness program. Yu, an Aimco resident, will head to the University of Maryland College Park to study business.

Aimco is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Denver, Colorado that owns and operates a geographically diversified portfolio of apartment communities. Aimco, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the largest owners and operators of conventional and affordable apartment communities in the United States, with 259 properties serving approximately 250,000 residents each year. Aimco's properties are located in 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Aimco common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AIV and are included in the S&P 500.

The NLHA Education Fund was established as a 501(c)(3) organization to raise funds for the purpose of awarding education grants and scholarships to low income individuals residing in federally assisted rental housing owned, managed, or administered by members of the National Leased Housing Association. The National Leased Housing Association (NLHA) is nonprofit organization dedicated to the development and preservation of decent and safe affordable rental housing.

More information about the NLHA Education fund, and a complete list of 2013 scholarship winners, are available on the NLHA website at http://www.hudnlha.com/education_fund/index.asp or by contacting the NLHA office at 202-785-8888.

SOURCE Aimco