Merry Christmas! The Daily Business Report — Dec. 25, 2009

Abused and Neglected Children Receive Holiday Gifts

Promises2Kids, founded as the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation, set an all-time gift donation record at its annual Give From Your Heart Holiday Gift Drive. More than 13,000 gifts have been collected and donated to San Diego County’s abused, abandoned and neglected children — shattering last year’s record of 12,000 gifts. 
“San Diego has truly banded together during this recession to ensure our county’s abused, abandoned and neglected children will still enjoy the holidays,” said Susan Golding, president and CEO of the organization. “The community’s enthusiasm and giving spirit reminds us of the true meaning of the holiday season.” 

These 13,000 gifts are being delivered this week to thousands of children across the county. The deliveries are made by social workers from more than 40 partner organizations including the San Diego Foster Parent Association, the San Diego Center for Children, SAY San Diego and Home Start. During this gift drive Promises2Kids volunteers, in partnership with BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) and Boyer Moving, placed more than 300 collection bins at office buildings, schools, businesses and restaurants throughout San Diego County.


Happy Holidays for a Single Mom and her Kids

A single working mother of modest means will celebrate the new year as a first-time homeowner, thanks to aHousing Commission program that helps working families buy homes in San Diego neighborhoods hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.

“Thank you for making my dreams come true,” said new homeowner Sheila Davis. After qualifying for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program,. Davis was able to purchase a foreclosed townhouse and obtain a zero-interest loan to renovate the home. It is the first home purchase for Davis, who has been a renter for the past 25 years.

“It’s always nice when you can share a feel-good story four days before Christmas,” said Mayor Jerry Sanders, who highlighted Davis’ entry into home ownership at a joint news conference with Fourth District Councilman Tony Young and San Diego Housing Commission President and CEO Richard C. Gentry.

“The Housing Commission is proud to help working families experience the joys and responsibilities of home ownership,” Gentry said. “We’re also pleased to play a key role in protecting neighborhoods from blight by making sure homes lost to foreclosure are quickly reoccupied by new owners.”

Three generations from the family will occupy the home: Davis, her teenage son and her mother. They will move into their three-bedroom, two-bath townhouse when renovations are completed in late January. The home is undergoing a complete makeover, including a remodeled kitchen with new energy efficient appliances and windows, carpeting and paint. Davis, the

mother of a 16-year-old high school student, works two jobs. She is a special education technician at local elementary school, where she works with autistic children. She is also employed as a security guard at a nearby hospital.

“By purchasing her home close to where she works, Davis is fulfilling the Housing Commission’s goal to provide workforce housing in close proximity to job centers,” said Gentry.

Under the federally funded Neighborhood Stabilization Program, qualifying first-time homebuyers can purchase and renovate distressed properties as part of the effort to prevent blight caused by home foreclosures. Homebuyers are eligible for mortgage assistance as well as forgivable loans for remodeling and repairs. The program is aimed at preserving neighborhoods with a high concentration of distressed properties. “What happens at the end is a wonderful story,” said Young.

Davis paid $207,000 for the two-story townhome at the 6900 block of Pembridge Lane in San Diego’s South Bay Terraces neighborhood just north of State Route 54. The Housing Commission is subsidizing the purchase with a $35,190 2nd Trust Deed deferred loan, along with forgivable loans of $41,316 to renovate the property and $3,200 grant to cover closing costs.

The loans from the Housing Commission are at zero interest. In Davis’ case, she does not have to repay the rehab loan if she continues living at the property for 15 years. The grant covering closing costs does not have to be repaid as long as she remains living at the house for six years. The deferred loan must be repaid after 30 years, or sooner if she refinances, moves or sells the property. For more information visit the San Diego Housing Commission’s Website: sdhc.org/NSP.shtml.

Mission 4 Monarch Assists Monarch School

Mission Federal Credit Union launched a new campaign this holiday season, “Mission 4 Monarch,” to assist local students at the Monarch School, a school that provides comprehensive education and support services for at-risk and homeless children in Grades K-12. In this inaugural year of the charity drive, an unprecedented $10,200 and more than 500 gift cards were raised to provide life essential healthy groceries, personal care products such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, school supplies, shoes and other basic needs for the students and their families. The initiative was conducted by Mission Federal Credit Union to bring their employees, members, and the community together to help the students and families of this cherished school.

For the last month the San Diego County community was invited to go into any of the Mission Federal branches and choose an ornament from the non-denominational “giving tree” designed in part by one of the Monarch School’s talented high school students. Each ornament was designated with a retail or grocery store where a gift card could be purchased for the student and family in need.

“We are so grateful to the community, our employees and members for making our inaugural ‘Mission 4 Monarch’ such a tremendous success,” says Tricia Link, vice president of community relations and external affairs. “The life essential items purchased with these gift cards will last far beyond the holiday season, and we’re proud to be able to help these families during the holiday giving season and beyond.”

St. Paul’s PACE Gets a Visit From Santa

As a result of Yahoo.INC’s Random acts of kindness campaign, St Paul’s PACE was visited by Santa at noon on Wednesday and Thursday during lunchtime to deliver gifts to frail and low-income seniors in the San Diego community. Yahoo gifted $1,000 to St Paul’s PACE participants as an act of kindness hoping to inspire others to also show kindness during this holiday season.  Kindness.yahoo.com is the Yahoo Website that shows over 200,000 acts of kindness that have happened as an inspiration from this month’s Act of Kindness campaign.

PACE participants in San Diego will receive gifts purchased from a local Target. Gifts include sweatpants, t-shirts and socks. Participants wrote to Santa telling him what they wanted and needed for Christmas. Some answers included “bringing our troops home,” “world peace” and others asked for basic needs such as food, grocery store gift cards, hand lotions and soaps.