Housing Opportunity Foundation awards $85,555.13 through its Community Grants and Habitat Support Program in addition to funds raised from Strides for Shelter 5K Run/Walk
9/06/2018
Contact: Kim Walker, Public Relations and Media Specialist, 704-940-3149
Pictured left to right: Randall Hitt, Men's Shelter of Charlotte Director of Philanthropy; Joan Goode, 2018 Strides for Shelter 5K Run/Walk Chair; Anne Marie DeCatsye, Association/CarolinaMLS CEO
Charlotte, N.C. – Even as Charlotte’s hot housing market continues to sizzle, Charlotte Realtors®, on a mission to create a community where all housing needs are met, continue to give back through the Housing Opportunity Foundation’s annual Opening Hearts, Opening Doors Luncheon. The Foundation’s annual luncheon, which celebrates and recognizes the work of area organizations working to address unmet housing needs, awarded 15 area local nonprofits and eight area Habitat for Humanity agencies $64,999.70 through the Realtor®-directed Habitat Support and Community Grants Programs.
In addition to the two grants programs, the Foundation presented a check for $20,555.43 to the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte to assist in the renovation of their North Tryon Street Campus. These funds represent proceeds from the Foundation’s Strides for Shelter 5K Run/Walk that was held in June. This year nearly 500 Realtors® and people concerned with addressing homelessness participated.
The Foundation serves as the charitable arm of the Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association and is dedicated to creating a community where all housing needs are met. The Foundation and its core of Realtor® volunteers work toward this goal through funding, education, advocacy and leadership programs that are focused on fair and affordable housing and workforce-housing initiatives.
Through the Community Grants Program, which supports area organizations that address unmet housing needs, and the Habitat Support Program, the Housing Opportunity Foundation has distributed is $432,999.70 through the two programs in both Mecklenburg and Iredell counties over the past 12 years.
The following organizations were awarded Community Grants:
- A Child's Place: $3,000 to fund the ACP Emergency Fund Reserve to allow the community-based social worker to support homeless children and families in crisis situations. Realtor® referral: Marcy Basrawala, Dickens Mitchener
- Ada Jenkins Development Center: $3,000 to provide direct housing assistance to families who have progressed within the Investment Pathway program. Realtor® referral: Arlene Arciero, Southern Homes for the Carolinas, Inc.
- Beds for Kids: $2,300 to purchase 32 dressers for the organization’s client children and their families; this furniture will create a more stable and sustainable environment as they transition into permanent housing. Realtor® referrals: Cullen McNulty, McNulty Realty and Jen Wetzel, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Paracle
- Changed Choices: $3,000 to provide stable, sober and supportive housing for six women, who otherwise would be homeless, upon their return to society following incarceration. Realtor® referrals: Jonathan Roberts, Jonathan Roberts Realty and Marlyn Jamison, Allen Tate
- Charlotte Family Housing: $3,000 for move-in expenses for four families experiencing homelessness for when they transition from temporary shelter. Realtor® referral: Dan Cottingham, Cottingham Chalk
- Charlotte Housing Authority Scholarship Fund: $3,000 to support the cost of mentor training and mentee student activities for two months as students engage in skills that help them create and sustain a path to success during their college tenure, therefore assisting in breaking the cycle of generational public housing. Realtor® referral: Roger Parham, Allen Tate
- Home4Me: $3,000 to provide seven Home4Me College kits and 11 Bed-in-a-Bag kits to teens aging out of foster care. Realtor® referral: Antonio Worsham, Equity North Carolina Real Estate
- Lily Pad Haven: $3,000 to support Operation Hope, a home renovation project intended to ensure that the safe houses for human trafficking victims remain open and habitable for trafficking survivors and their children. Realtor® referral: Tori Robinson, Keller Williams Realty
- QC Family Tree: $3,000 to make structural repairs of long-deferred maintenance on a recently acquired property that will be used for long-term, low-income housing. Realtor® referral: David Kennedy, TR Lawing
- Running Works: $3,000 to assist five individuals make the transition out of homelessness by providing three months of rental assistance at $200 per month per individual. Realtor® referrals: Sherry George, Dickens Mitchener and Shane McDevitt, The McDevitt Agency
- Safe Alliance: $2,999.70 for the purchase of 1,818 single-ride bus fares for residents of the Clyde & Ethel Dickson Domestic Violence Shelter so that survivors can regain independence and transition from the shelter to safe and affordable housing. Realtor® referral: Lynn Johnson, Savvy + Co. Real Estate
- Supportive Housing Communities: $3,000 to provide a storage unit for furniture and appliances for prospective residents along with building supplies and tools to maintain decent housing for all SHC residents. Realtor® referral: Robert Dulin, Keller Williams Realty
- The Relatives: $3,000 to purchase bed frames and mattresses for young adults experiencing homelessness and for housing through the Relatives’ housing program. Realtor® referral: Carolyn Taylor, Dickens Mitchener
- Time Out Youth: $3,000 to provide support for the Host Home Program and Emergency Financial Assistance Program, which will help provide transitional housing for 10 homeless LGBTQ youth. Realtor® referral: Frances Dawson, RE/MAX Executive
- The T.R.E. Foundation: $1,200 to purchase and prepare/distribute lunches to homeless individuals in Uptown Charlotte for a period of 12 months. Realtor® referral: Renata Henderson Murray, Wilkinson ERA Real Estate
The following area-Habitat for Humanity agencies were awarded grants:
- Habitat for Humanity of Cabarrus County: $3,000 to assist in the construction of a new “Women Build” home. Realtor® referral: Leigh Brown, RE/MAX Executive
- Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte: $3,000 to assist a homeowner within the Critical Home Repair Program and providing accessibility upgrades. Realtor® referral: Eric Locher, Cottingham Chalk
- Habitat for Humanity of Gaston County: $2,000 to assist in the purchase of laminate floor. Realtor® Referral: Tanya Knutson, Allen Tate
- Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln County: $3,000 to assist a homeowner at a foreclosed property. Realtor® Referral: Sheryl Haigh, Keller Williams Realty
- Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity: $3,000 to purchase the material necessary to place exterior siding on a new home. Realtor® Referral: Thomas Shoupe, REMIS Properties
- Habitat for Humanity of Stanly County: $3,000 to assist with handicap ramp and roll-in shower. Realtor® Referral: Amy Preslar, Century 21 Russ Hollins, Realtors®
- Our Towns Habitat for Humanity: $3,000 to purchase laminate flooring for two new homes. Realtor® referral: Andrea Montague, Allen Tate
- Union-Anson County Habitat for Humanity: $2,500 to purchase Energy Star rated windows and exterior doors for new home. Realtor® referral: Russell Wing, RE/MAX Executive
The Community Grants Program and the Habitat Grants Program award funds annually. Applications are rated according to community impact, project feasibility, fiscal strength and Realtor® support. Funds are restricted and must be used by December 31, 2018. Funds cannot be used for capital costs, staff/administrative expenses or debt reduction.
For more information about the Housing Opportunity Foundation, the association or CarolinaMLS, visit www.CarolinaHome.com.
The Housing Opportunity Foundation is the charitable arm of the Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association and is dedicated to funding, education, advocacy and leadership programs that are focused on fair and affordable housing and workforce-housing initiatives.
Original Publish Date: 9/6/2018