Bank of America Partners with HomeAid Atlanta for Service Project to Assist Local Homeless Families

Oct. 20, 2011 - PRLog -- On October 14, a group of 23 local Bank of America Community Volunteers teamed up with HomeAid Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that builds housing for the homeless, for a HomeAid Cares project benefiting HomeStretch, a nonprofit organization serving homeless families.  Through this service project, volunteers successfully assisted HomeStretch with improvements and maintenance around their Roswell property, all in an effort to help the organization continue providing safe and comfortable housing to homeless families in the north Fulton area.

HomeStretch owns and operates 20 units at this site to provide transitional housing to homeless working families for up to 24 months.  During the HomeAid Care Day, Bank of America volunteers participated in a variety of activities around the property, including landscaping, painting, and preparing one of the units for a new family to move in.  

Bank of America Georgia Market President Geri Thomas commented, “Bank of America Community Volunteers make a difference in our communities one hour at a time, making opportunity possible in support of essential nonprofit organizations across our state.  Volunteering is core to our company’s strategy and culture, supporting our objective to act as an economic engine in our local communities.”

The project in Atlanta is one of five HomeAid Care Days being conducted around the country in October through a national partnership with Bank of America.  In addition to Atlanta, projects are taking place with HomeAid chapters in the following locations: Houston, TX; Orange County, CA; Sacramento, CA; and Seattle, WA.  For the past seven years, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation has played a critical role in HomeAid’s efforts to change the lives of thousands of homeless Americans.  This new volunteer initiative expands the partnership, giving Bank of America associates a hands-on opportunity to give back to their local communities.

HomeAid Cares is a program designed to provide a facelift to housing developments serving the temporarily homeless. Through this program, HomeAid organizes groups of volunteers to complete “done-in-a-day” repair-type projects.  The program is a great resource for homeless service providers as it offers free assistance with cosmetic upgrades and minor repairs to their facilities. The program helps to ensure that these facilities remain an asset to the community over time so they can continue serving those in need for years to come.

HomeAid Atlanta has a long-standing relationship with HomeStretch, having worked with the organization since 2006 to completely renovate six of the duplexes and townhomes for their program in partnership with several local home builders and their trade partners.  

About HomeAid Atlanta:
Founded in 2001, HomeAid Atlanta is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working in partnership with the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, and is a local chapter of HomeAid America, a leading national provider of transitional housing for the temporarily homeless. The HomeAid mission is to build and maintain dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives. HomeAid acts as the housing developer and liaison between homeless service providers, builders, trade partners and community volunteers.  To date, HomeAid Atlanta has completed 16 housing developments that serve the temporarily homeless, including victims of domestic violence, teen mothers, abused and abandoned children, and homeless families. For more information about HomeAid Atlanta, visit http://www.homeaidatlanta.org.

Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy:
Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America is delivering on a 10-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than $200 million in 2010, making the bank one of the largest corporate cash donors in the United States. As a global company serving clients through operations in more than 40 countries, Bank of America approaches investing through a national strategy under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Reaffirming a commitment to develop and sustain a culture of service, bank associate volunteers contributed more than one million hours in 2010 to enhance the quality of life in their communities worldwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.

About HomeStretch:
HomeStretch guides homeless working families with minor children in north metro Atlanta toward increased self-reliance and stability by providing life-skills training, mentoring and supportive housing. Today, the agency owns and operates 24 single-family residences.  HomeStretch has trained social workers who work directly with the families and more than 800 caring citizens who commit their time and energy each year to ensure the success of the organization’s clients. The work of HomeStretch and its supporters has been recognized by various foundations and the community at large. In 2000, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded HomeStretch its Award of Excellence as one of the top 100 community housing organizations in the United States. For more information about HomeStretch, visit http://www.homestretch.org.