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Realtors’ Palo Alto District Presents Over $12,000 in Grants to Nonprofit Groups in February Wednesday, March 5, 2008
- For Immediate Release - Cupertino, CA - During the month of February, the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation awarded $12,650 in grants to various nonprofit organizations that help the needy and underprivileged in Palo Alto and the surrounding areas. The grants were presented by Realtors from the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) to the organizations at the Realtor group’s Palo Alto District Realtor weekly tour meetings. Grants were presented to My Red Shoes ($2,500), Project Read ($2,500), Stevenson House ($2,500), Friends for Youth ($2,500), Christmas Bureau ($2,000) and Community Gardens as Appleseeds ($650). My New Red Shoes provides new school clothing to underprivileged children. The SILVAR Charitable Foundation grant will support the Clothing for Confidence program, which will provide 1,500 disadvantaged children with $50 gift cards to clothing retailers. In addition, 500 of these children will receive a brand new pair of shoes. For children who have never owned a new outfit, the opportunity allows them to arrive at school with confidence and dramatically improves their chances of social and academic success. Project Read is a free, volunteer-based literacy program serving adults in the Menlo Park community. The program enables adults to improve their basic reading and writing skills so they can achieve their goals and function more effectively at home, in the community, at work and as lifelong learners. The Realtors’ support will help enable Project Read to purchase software that teaches reading, spelling, and pronunciation on its new Macintosh computers, available to learners seven days a week so they can work on improving their reading, writing, speaking and computer skills. The Adlai E. Stevenson House, which is located in Palo Alto, has been providing low- and very-low-income senior citizens with 120 affordable housing units since 1968. Adlai Stevenson House is owned and operated by the Palo Alto Senior Housing Project Inc, whose mission is to provide affordable housing, where older independent adults can enjoy a safe and caring community. Tom Pamilla, executive director of the Stevenson House, thanked SILVAR Realtors and affiliates and said the Charitable Foundation’s grant will help clean and repair the radiant heating system of Building C. He noted appropriate heating will be beneficial to the health and well-being of the community’s senior residents. Friends for Youth has established one-to-one mentoring relationships between youth-in-need and responsible, caring adults to improve the lives of individuals and the community. The Realtor Foundation’s grant will fund the organization’s mentoring program, which creates and cultivates one-to-one friendships between at-risk youth and adult volunteers in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. It may not be Christmas yet, but there are agencies already working to make the season brighter for families in need. Christmas Bureau of Palo is a small nonprofit group that helps financially strapped residents have a happier holiday season by gifting them with cash, which they can spend any way they choose. Funded entirely by community donations, the Christmas Bureau sends out checks in varying amounts to individuals and families who live within the boundaries of the Palo Alto school district. The money received by needy residents has been used to buy Christmas dinner, toys for their children or other presents, pay groceries, rent or other bills. Community Gardens As Appleseeds, a non-profit foundation which promotes community gardens in towns, neighborhoods, schools and churches. Community Gardens As Appleseeds gives away $50 "Seeds of Encouragement" for a young person or senior or group interested in creating their own organic garden, organizes efforts to develop support for a community gardens by providing information on how to start a community garden to school boards and city councils, and conducts on-site visits to current or potential gardening sites. These grants by the Charitable Foundation Trust have been made possible by donations by SILVAR Realtors and affiliates, and in part by sponsorship from Red Hawk Real Estate. Last year, the foundation donated a total of $64,770 in 2007 to different non-profit organizations that help homeless and low-income individuals and families in Silicon Valley, including $18,000 to 18 graduating seniors from public high schools located in Silicon Valley. The Charitable Foundation trustees meet quarterly (March, June, September, and December) to evaluate applications. Applications must be received by Feb. 15, May 15, Aug. 15, and Nov. 15 in order to be considered at the quarterly meeting. For more information and details about the Charitable Foundation grants and an application form, visit www.silvar.org, or call the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® at (408) 200-0100.
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, e-mail , or phone (408) 200-0109. |
