AAR awards CARHOF grants to three worthy organizations
The Aurora Association of REALTORS® is proud to provide significant financial assistance to three organizations helping needy families in the Aurora area. The grants come from the Colorado Association of REALTORS® Housing Opportunity Foundation (CARHOF).
Money for CARHOF comes from financial contributions by REALTORS® and those in real estate-related industries. CARHOF continues to be one of Colorado’s most reliable affordable housing resources; since 1990, this nonprofit foundation has helped thousands of Colorado residents with their housing needs. To date CARHOF has given more than $6.5 million in grants to nonprofit housing.
AAR asked CARHOF for funds to assist three local entities that offer a variety of services to needy families and individuals in our community. The grants were awarded to representatives of the three groups at a REALTOR® Update meeting in October.
City of Aurora Home Ownership Assistance Program (HOAP) Award: $4,476
Established in 1985, HOAP is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency providing down payment and closing cost assistance along with comprehensive no-cost counseling in pre-purchases, foreclosure prevention, reverse equity mortgages for the elderly, and pre-foreclosure sales. It offers tenant/landlord information and is an extensive referral resource.
In the past five years, HOAP representatives have counseled 1,375 pre-purchase clients. Along with directly affecting the lives of countless families, HOAP’s efforts also affect the financial well-being of many local and metro businesses. Some of the impact in the past half-decade includes 1,092 commissions earned by REALTORS®, 546 loans made by lenders, 546 appraisals, 546 inspections, 546 title transactions, and 546 insurance policies sold by insurance agencies.
Gateway Battered Women’s Services Award: $1,492
Gateway Battered Women’s Services serves women and children fleeing from domestic violence. Domestic violence remains one of the most pressing problems in our community; last year alone, the City of Aurora and Arapahoe County reported more than 3,500 cases in Gateway’s direct service area.
Gateway estimates that 300 households will benefit from its emergency shelter and extended stay programs this year. The organization provides a comprehensive array of programs and services to women and children including a 24 hour crisis line offering intervention, information and referrals; emergency shelter and an extended stay program for up to 39 women and children at a time; individual, group and family counseling for resident and nonresident women and children; community development programs with education and training; and a court advocacy program that coordinates with the police, prosecutors, courts, probation and service providers to increase the effectiveness of intervention and treatment of domestic violence incidents.
Rocky Mountain Housing Development Corporation (Rocky Mountain HDC) Award: $1,492
The mission of Rocky Mountain HDC is to change lives by providing housing and related supportive services that engender a safe environment and teach community skills for families with very low to moderate incomes. One of its properties, Arapahoe Green Townhomes, is in unincorporated Arapahoe County near Aurora.
Arapahoe Green is a rental property which consists of 60 affordable units – 18 are used as transitional housing for homeless families at 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), and the remaining 42 units house families with incomes between 40 percent and 60 percent of AMI.
Arapahoe Green goes even further, providing families access to a Family Services Program which focuses on youth development, family support, and community building.
Youth development activities center around academic and social support; family support includes English as a Second Language tutoring, job search assistance, homeownership education, computer classes, and resources for food and clothing; community building activities include monthly community meetings, special events, community service projects and cultural and holiday celebrations.
By integrating housing and supportive services, Rocky Mountain HDC helps families improve their economic and social well being.
A big thank you
The Aurora Association of REALTORS® CARHOF Committee, chaired by Nancy Griffin, RE/MAX Unlimited, Inc., extends its thanks to AAR members who contributed to CARHOF through donations and earnest money escrow accounts and who played in or contributed to AAR’s annual Golf Tournament on behalf of CARHOF. Through these efforts, CARHOF was able to give AAR $7,460, which the Association used to help organizations bettering the Aurora community.
AAR also thanks RE/MAX Alliance 3000, Inc. The company was recognized at AAR’s Inaugural in September for contributing the most interest on escrow accounts of any AAR member company.
Representatives of three outstanding Aurora organizations display checks awarded by AAR through grants from CARHOF at the Oct. 9 REALTOR® Update meeting. Recipients are Brooke Chandler, Rocky Mountain HDC, Janeen Worden, Gateway Battered Women’s Services, Tony Ormsby, City of Aurora HOAP. They are joined by AAR’s CARHOF Chairwoman Nancy Griffin, RE/MAX Unlimited, Inc.(far right).
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