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SILVAR Realtors Present $5,000 in Grants at Palo Alto Realtor Tour Meeting

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

The Silicon Valley Realtors® Charitable Foundation Trust, the charitable arm of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors® (SILVAR), presented two grants during last week's Palo Alto Realtor tour meeting. Both grants were made possible in part by the Heritage Bank of Commerce.

SILVAR Foundation Trustee Judy Ellis presented the first grant, $2,500, to Michael Gennette, executive director of Achievekids, an organization which helps youth with complex disabilities find their full potential through an array of integrated mental health and special education services.

Achievekids has served Santa Clara and San Mateo counties for more than 40 years, by providing programs and services for children and youth who have difficult emotional and developmental disorders that cannot be properly addressed in a traditional academic setting. Achievekids has the ability to work with these young people on a focused one-to-one level with trained staff and specially designed facilities. The goal is to help students ages six to 22 become more self-reliant.

"I'd like to thank all of you for supporting children and their families," Gennette told Palo Alto Realtors and affiliates. "Achievekids has expertise in autism, which is becoming an increasing problem today. Over one in a hundred children are diagnosed with autism today."

Gennette noted Achievekids serves students in the Palo Alto School District as well as San Jose.

The Silicon Valley Realtors® Charitable Foundation's grant will be used to fund the Achievekids Vocational Educational Program. Children 14 years old and above participate in this program to learn both job skills and workplace social skills by working for major corporations, such as Marriott, Starbucks, Target, Blockbuster, and more. The program is good for their present health as well as their future independence.

"I can't thank you enough for providing this contribution," said Gennette.

On behalf of the SILVAR Charitable Foundation, Palo Alto District Chair Julia Keady then bestowed a check of $2,500 to Family & Children Services. Lani Dorff, director of development and marketing, accepted the check.

Family & Children Services is a private, non-profit health and human services agency that has served children, teens, adults, and families in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties for nearly 60 years. The agency offers a wide variety of comprehensive and affordable counseling, education and prevention programs. Through collaborations with local schools, childcare centers, county agencies, community centers, health clinics and workplaces, F&CS are able to serve clients at more than 100 community-based locations.
"Thank you for making the community a better place for those in need," said Dorff. She noted Family & Child Services serves over 8,000 individuals each year in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

The Charitable Foundation's grant will be used to fund the organization's Counseling Services program, with a focus on offering support to local children, teens and their parents who have faced a life crisis or are diagnosed with mental illness. The outpatient and collaborative mental health interventions and treatments range from individual and family counseling to on-site trauma response.


The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.

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