Community Housing Resource Center

Hello,

As the year draws to a close, the holiday season allows a brief respite to reflect. 2009 was an important year for us here at the Community Housing Resource Center.  We welcomed two new staff members to the Center and expanded our programming, allowing us to serve more people than we ever have before – nearly 3,000 individuals and families.

In this issue, we highlight some of the people who contributed to our success.  Please take a moment to peruse the articles on Reverse Mortgage Group’s Lynn Russell and Julie Robinson, Coldwell Banker’s Karl Millar and the good folks at HUD. 

In this column, I have the privilege of telling you about a new tax-relief initiative we launched in 2009 with the help of three important partners: the Wal-Mart Foundation, AARP- Tax Aide and the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. 

With their help, we conducted community outreach and provided free tax preparation assistance at the Center to 469 people.  I’m excited to announce that we will be continuing the program in 2010.  Beginning in February, tax preparation counselors will be on site between the hours of 10:00 and 2:00 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Appointments are required so be sure to call ahead. 

Finally, this issue concludes with an invitation to join us at next year’s “Home Is Where the Heart Is” event.  This is our only fundraiser of the year, and it is absolutely critical to the financial well-being of the organization. It’s never too early to reserve your ticket. 

Individual tickets are $50 and include breakfast. If you purchase one before the end of the year, a portion of your 2010 ticket cost will count as a tax-deductible donation in 2009. That’s tax assistance you won’t have to come into the Center in February to get. 

I hope to see you in February at the Red Lion at the Quay. Until then, have a safe and happy holiday season.

With much thanks,

Teri Duffy, Executive Director

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Honoring Five Years of Service

Every year we host an event we call, “Home Is Where the Heart Is.”  This is an important fundraiser for us, but it’s also a chance to celebrate our accomplishments and recognize those who helped us achieve them. In 2009, we presented Karl Millar with a Volunteer of the Year award for his longtime service to the Center.

Karl is a realtor with Coldwell Banker and has been involved with the Center for over five years. He’s not your typical realtor.

“I came out of corporate America.  My passion was real estate, but it was always a sideline for me,” he notes. When Karl finally did leave his marketing company to pursue his passion full-time, he found that first-time homebuyers were regularly being taken advantage of by unscrupulous realtors and mortgage lenders. “The industry needed some guidance,” he adds. 

Karl (right) receives his award from Kevin Gillette, CHRC Program Manager

Over the years, Karl has been providing that guidance at CHRC.  He’s represented the Center at community fairs, provided his professional expertise to our counselors, and he’s a fixture in our classroom. “On a regular basis I teach first-time homebuyer classes. I also come in once a month for an orientation that takes place on a Wednesday evening for one hour, and I give them a fifteen minute overview.”

Karl is proud of the work he’s put in at CHRC.  “Statistically, we’re not the problem with this recent downturn in the industry because [CHRC clients] had the education.”  In fact, the downturn makes financial education even more important than ever for homebuyers.  This is why you’ll still find Karl in the CHRC classroom each month.

You can also catch up with Karl at next year’s “Home is Where the Heart Is” event. He plans to be on hand to watch as we honor the next Volunteer of the Year. We hope you’ll be able to join us also. To reserve a ticket, contact Sue Pupo, Office Manager, at 360-690-4496 x 103 today.

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A Thank You to Our Supporters

In a recent article by the Washington Post, counseling from housing agencies such as ours was reported to reduce foreclosures by 60%.  This October, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded grants to organizations across the country doing this important work.  Four agencies in Oregon and four in Washington, including the Community Housing Resource Center, were among those to receive funding.

Of the grantees, we are the only one that serves residents of both states.  We are grateful not only to HUD, but to the local business leaders, elected officials and non-profit partners on both sides of the river who lent their enthusiastic support to our application.  With this grant, we can continue to help people take control of their finances and keep their homes.   

In addition to HUD, we would like to recognize the organizations and individuals who provided financial support of our efforts in the fourth quarter of the year.

Corporations and Foundations

Accel Mortgage, Bank of America Home Loans, Evergreen Home Loans, First Priority Financial, Golf Savings Bank, Kaiser Permanente, Marketing Matters, Reverse Mortgage Group, US Bank, Wells Fargo Bank

Individuals

David Black, Karl Millar, Susan Rawson, Dr. Allan Weiland

Thanks to each you.  We simply couldn’t do it without you. For a list of past donors, please visit our Partners page.

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Participating Partners: Reverse Mortgage Group

We couldn’t keep our doors open without the help of our donors and our volunteers. In some cases, they’re one and the same.  We call these people our Participating Partners.

Participating Partners are experts in the housing and banking industries who volunteer time and money to help our clients.  Some are mortgage planners, some are real estate agents, while others are home inspectors or work with title companies.  What they all have in common is a desire to help low-income residents realize their dream of homeownership.

Julie Robinson (left) and Lynn Russell (right) of Reverse Mortgage Group.

One such partner is Reverse Mortgage Group.  Lynn Russell and Julie Robinson of Reverse Mortgage Group have been working with the Center for years.  Just last month, they volunteered an afternoon to call CHRC clients that we hadn’t heard from in a while and see if there was anything more we could do to help.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” confessed Russell.  But “when we indicated the Community Housing Resource Center everybody wanted to talk to us.”  Some people were grateful for the follow-up call and scheduled new appointments whereas others proudly shared their success stories.

“I had one or two people say ‘Yes, we went ahead and purchased a home and it was such a big help for us to work with the Community Housing Resource Center.’”

We are grateful for such dedicated partners in our work.  For information on becoming a Participating Partner, contact Kevin Gillette, Program Manager, at 360-690-4496 x 101.

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Save the Date

Mark it on your calendar – the 10^th annual “Home Is Where the Heart Is” breakfast will be held on Friday, February 26^th, 2010 from 7:30 - 9:00 am at the Red Lion at the Quay in Vancouver, Washington.   

You can reserve a table of ten for your employees and clients with a Gold, Silver or Table sponsorship.  To reserve a sponsorship for your business, please contact Daniel Couch at 360-690-4496 x 104.

We hope you will plan to join us in February for this special event.  See you then.

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