John has much experience working in the philanthropic world, and takes great interest in charitable goings on today.

Elected Officials and Enterprise Celebrate the Grand Opening of the Renato Apartments

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By JohnPosted In: EnterpriseTagged: , , , , , ,

Renato ApartmentOn Thursday, November 5, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) Councilwoman Jan Perry (9th district) and SRO Housing  joined Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise), new residents and neighbors to celebrate the opening of the Renato Apartments located at 531 S. San Julian Street on Skid Row. The Renato Apartments, a $25 million development, will provide 95 low-price studio apartments for extremely low-income residents.

“Enterprise has invested heavily in Skid Row because we believe that it is important to create a community that includes affordable housing and access to needed resources for those who are working to make improvements in their lives,” said Jeff Schaffer, A California impact leader for Enterprise. “We know that a home is the first step to address homelessness, however, enabling supportive services increases the chances that a person will remain housed.”

The Renato Apartments offers permanent-supportive housing to citizens who earn up to 45 percent of the local median income. Sixty apartments are reserved for chronically homeless people and those suffering from mental-illness. To assist residents with needed life-skills, SRO Housing will provide comprehensive social services on the premises. All studio apartments will be supported by the project-based Section 8 rental subsidy. The residents can also get social support, such as drug and alcohol recovery programs and free meals at the nearby James Woods Community Center.

Enterprise provided approx. $11.7 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity earmarked for building costs.

Enterprise and SRO have a strong history of working together to help the Skid Row neighborhood. Over the past ten years, Enterprise has financed more than 1,000 units in nine SRO properties, including the Lyndon Hotel, the James Woods Apartments, the Yankee and the Ford Hotel which are currently under construction.

Cure in The fight against Epilepsy

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Cure, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, is very active in promoting research to find cures for epilepsy. In order to fund research cure also does a lot of fund raising.

On Thursday, October 22, Susan Axelrod, the president of Cure, and her husband spoke at the CIA kick-off of its Combined Federal Campaign in Langley, Virginia. They spoke to an auditorium of employees about their daughter Lauren’s struggles with epilepsy, about CURE, and they also showed one of cure Organization’s videos.  The Director, Leon Panetta, spoke from the depths of his heart about the importance of giving charity–both in money, time and effort. Of course, as always, there were people in the audience who had personal connections to epilepsy: it’s a constant reminder of how prevalent this disease is.

Thursday night, Cure had its 3rd annual New York City benefit. It has seen huge growth over the past two years!  Mayor Bloomberg was the keynote speaker, and many friends, supporters, and families helped to doubling the number of guests there, and triple the funds raised!

These are just two of the many fundraising and public relations events that Cure organizes.

Since cure was founded in 1998, it has raised $10 million to fund epilepsy research and other projects dedicated to finding a cure. Cure funds grants to young and established investigators to investigate  new areas and collect the data needed to apply for further funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since 1998, CURE has awarded funding to more than 85 cutting-edge projects.

Our Youth has what to Say

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By JohnPosted In: Knicks Poetry ProgramTagged: ,

The Knicks Poetry Program is an amazing opportunity and outlet for youth to try their wings in poetry. The winners receive money for college tuitions, but the participants and the community receive much more. Youths aged 13-20 are encouraged to write poetry, in their own language, in hip hop form. They put their life experience in words and read it on stage. They develop self confidence to appear in public and express themselves.

In addition, there is another contest for written works. Those students who like to write but don’t want to perform on stage, can send in samples of their writing. The winners of both contests will be financially encouraged to go to university to develop their talents and contribute to society.

The community also gains. The schools encourage the Poetry Slam and many boys and girls who may not be skilled enough to participate are also encouraged to write and express themselves. This helps them develop into richer adults who contribute more to society. So everyone gains.

AmeriCaresHelps Disaster Victims Around The World

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By JohnPosted In: AmeriCares, Charity ActivityTagged: , ,

AmeriCares is a disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization which gives immediate response to emergency medical needs. It also supports long-term health care projects for people in the United States and around the world.

One of the projects AmeriCares has been focusing on is  helping victims and refugees from the Darfur conflict. After the expulsion of aid organizations from Darfur, Sudan in March 2009, a massive group of refugees fled for safety to the neighboring country Chad. Families searched everywhere for water and food. They had no medical supplies or care.

In response to this continuing humanitarian crisis, AmeriCares continues its long-standing commitment to Darfur refugees and continues to deliver emergency aid valued at $800,000 per airlift. Americares’ supplies hospitals and clinics serving Darfur refugees in Chad desperately needed medical supplies.

The airlifts contain lifesaving medical supplies, including antibiotics and medicines to treat wide spread post-traumatic stress and depression. Sea shipments follow the airlifts. It supplies humanitarian relief and first aid items, such as blankets, bandages and ointment to treat wounds.

The supplies help care workers on the ground to provide immunizations, doctor’s visits, maternity care, children’s health services and emergency surgeries for victims of violence. Over 65,000 patients were helped in the last quarter of 2009.

After years of turmoil and war, refugees continue to suffer. During the last 3 months in 2009, nearly 100 babies were born in the Guereda Hospital which helps refugees in Chad. AmeriCares’ regularly sends prenatal vitamins to both Sudan and Chad to help moms-to-be and their unborn children. These airlifts contain approximately $150,000 worth of the critical vitamins to help improve the mothers’ and babies’ health.

Since 2004, AmeriCares has sent medicines, supplies and equipment to Darfur, Sudan and neighboring Chad. AmeriCares has undertaken 11 airlifts to Darfur, delivering over 175 tons of help valued at more than $6 million. By the end of 2009, AmeriCares had delivered seven shipments to Chad. These included over 50 tons of supplies and medicines valued at more than $4.4 million. The shipments of help bring AmeriCares’ total medical support for Darfur refugees to over $11.2 million.

Enterprise Community Partners

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Enterprise Community Partners assists in building and/or repairing affordable housing for low income families. They work to assist communities or to build new communities so that families can have the security and peace of mind. All of the units that they build are green, making sure to use water and electricity effectively and the additional costs of green construction are made up in cost savings in future years.

An example of Enterprise Community Partners in action followed the three hurricanes that swept the gulf coast. The levees along the coast line gave way and many homes along the shore were destroyed. These were mainly low income families’ homes. The main possession of these people was their homes. People had lived there for generations in these houses and now entire communities were destroyed.

Enterprise Community Partners (ECP) came in with four pronged strategy to save the situation.

First, ECP worked with all levels of government to support polices that would help recovery and would make building a priority.

Second, they formed partnerships to strengthen local organizations to help in the immediate recovery work and to steer ongoing building activities.

Third, ECP designed innovative housing designs and construction methods that would be appropriate for that region.

Fourth, ECP gave and raised capital for ongoing construction work that would be sustained after the initial emergency relief ended.  They committed to give up to 200 million dollars to repair and build up to 10,000 homes.

So far, ECP has invested $135 million and has repaired or built over 5,000 homes.

Enterprise Community Partners (ECP) helps in the following ten locations: Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, the Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, New York, Northern California, Ohio, The Pacific Northwest, and Washington D.C.

Thanks to ECP, many low income families have the peace of mind of living in decent homes.

American Library Association: Sponsors Banned Books Week

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The American Library Association (ALA) sponsored the banned books week; which protects the freedom to read and viability of the First amendment.

Banning Books week draws the public’s attention to book bannings across America by various types of organizations. Held at the end of September, banned books week emphasizes the importance of free access to information and underscores the harm of censorship by informing about attempted and actual book bannings throughout the United States.

Banned Books week is based on the preservation of intellectual freedom, even if the ideas and content are unorthodox or unpopular.  Many of the books are considered literature, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee and Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. These books and others were condemned for a variety of reasons such as drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to the age group involved.

The Issue of freedom of speech, however, demands that we allow all books to be available because no one decide for others what they should not read.

The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) is an organization with close ties to the American Library Association.  The Freedom to Read Foundation performs the legal work required to fight book bannings in the courts and to protect our freedom of speech right and our freedom to information.

Childfund: Helping Children Right Now

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Childfund is dedicated to helping children around the world. One great childfund program involves giving farm animals to needy families. For example, they give chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats, pigs or cows to needy families. These animals provide two benefits. First, the family can eat the eggs or drink the nutritious milk from these animals and so escape the ever present hunger and malnutrition in their lives. In addition, the animals multiply and can be sold for food or eaten, thereby helping the family support itself. Cows help with farming. By making the families self sufficient, the children don’t have to work all day and can spend some time in school, to make a better future for themselves and their children.

Childfund International helps children in the United States and in 31 other countries. Their programs in the U.S. reach some of the poorest counties in Mississippi, North and South Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas.

Their work is focused on improving the lives of deprived, excluded and vulnerable children. They believe that improving children’s well-being creates a better world for everyone. Childfund works to empower children to thrive throughout all stages of their lives and to become leaders of ongoing change.  Currently ChildFund International helps more than 15.2 million children and their families to break the cycle of poverty and to become healthy and productive citizens

Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles

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With over 50 years of service and experience, Big Brothers and Big
Sisters of Greater Los Angeles has as their mission to help children
in need.  They do so in a number of ways.  They offer a one-to-one
mentoring program that offers needy children a chance to form a
lasting bond with a pre-screened adult who commits to working with the
child for one entire year.  They help children to strengthen their
sense of self-worth, to improve each child’s resilience, self-efficacy
and sense of future and more.

In the past year alone, 1670 at-risk children and youth from the
greater Los Angeles area were matched with carefully-screened
supportive adult volunteers.  90% of the children come from families
with annual household incomes at or below the Federal poverty level.
More than 75% of the children are from single parent households and
30% of the children are referred to the program through the L.A.
County Department of Children and Family Services.

Enterprise Community Partners Turns 25

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Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith, Jr., Baltimore County Councilman Kenneth N. Oliver, District 4, and other state and local dignitaries joined Enterprise Homes, Inc. to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary at a “topping off” and
flag raising ceremony at The Greens at Liberty Road in Randallstown, Md. When completed, the new green apartment building will feature 105 affordable rental homes for low- and moderate income seniors.

The $15.6 million Greens at Liberty Road is one of six developments totaling 600 homes now being developed or slated to close on financing by Enterprise Homes, which is celebrating 25 years as a leading developer of affordable and mixed-income communities in the mid-Atlantic region.

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Health Care Deep in the Heart of Mumbai

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By JohnPosted In: AmeriCaresTagged: , , ,

AmeriCares India recently partnered with Karunya Trust to provide health screenings, medicines and other aid to vulnerable women and girls. The groups set up temporary health clinics to reach a severely underserved community on the outskirts of Mumbai.

“Most of our patients in this community live a hand to mouth existence. They are so poor that they do not seek medical help due to the fear of losing their daily wages,” said Dr. Purvish Parikh, Vice President of AmeriCares and Managing Director of AmeriCares India Foundation. “Providing medical care close to home is practically the only way the women and children in this community can receive treatment for their illnesses and injuries.”

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