NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., June 4, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- HomeAid, a leading national non-profit provider of housing for America's temporarily homeless, honored Mike McGee, president and CEO of Pardee Homes on May 30 during PCBC(r) 2007, for his strong, enduring support of the organization's fight against homelessness. The honor was announced as part of a HomeAid reception hosted by California Building Industry Association's (CBIA) CEO Robert Rivinius.
An inductee in this year's California Building Industry Foundation (CBIF) Hall of Fame, McGee accepted the HomeAid honor at PCBC, a multi-regional annual tradeshow and conference for the home building industry. McGee further demonstrated his and Pardee Homes' commitment to HomeAid with a donation of $150,000 for the organization.
With a long tradition of philanthropic giving by the company and its employees, Pardee Homes has supported HomeAid for more than a decade with cash and in-kind donations, as well as volunteer labor devoted to multiple build/renovate HomeAid projects in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas. The company has contributed well over $1.5 million of in-kind materials and resources in these efforts; this amount does not include the countless hours of volunteer time from the company's workforce.
"We are so thrilled for Mike and his induction into the CBIF Hall of Fame; he is one of the building industry's great humanitarians, and his deep generosity is reflected in the giving culture of Pardee Homes," said Genette Eaton, CEO of HomeAid. She added that Pardee Homes and its entire workforce were honored with one of the building industry's highest honors, the Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award. Also in 2006, Pardee Homes received the Honorable Mention National Housing Endowment Achievement Award for Outstanding Community Service.
"Pardee Homes employees demonstrate their charitable spirit by embracing organizations that are trying to make a positive difference in the world, and HomeAid is a shining example," said McGee. "Our workforce volunteers thousands of hours every year, and there are no adequate words for their freely giving hearts -- or my deep appreciation for their dedicated efforts on behalf of the less fortunate."
Also highlighting the HomeAid reception was a special presentation by Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs, HomeAid co-founder, member of HomeAid's national Board of Directors, and president & CFO of Lifescapes International, Inc., an international leader of landscape designed environments. Brinkerhoff-Jacobs presented the organization with a $54,000 donation raised through a personal-appeal campaign. An innovative fundraiser, she raised a record amount for HomeAid's national efforts as well as the organization's Southern Nevada chapter in Las Vegas.
"There are so many giving souls in the building industry, like Mike McGee and his wonderful employees, and my personal efforts are merely a means to harness that philanthropic power," said Jacobs. "For 18 years, HomeAid has offered builders, their employees and their trade partners an ideal way to give back to their communities and help the homeless by doing what they do best: build homes."
A recent example of Pardee Homes' expansive philanthropy comes via HomeAid's Southern Nevada chapter, where the company and more than 100 volunteer subcontractor partners transformed the cottages and grounds of St. Jude's Ranch in Boulder City, home to nearly 50 abused, neglected and abandoned children. Under the banner of "Building Hope," Pardee Homes led a volunteer force of more than 500 in renovating and refurbishing eight cottages totaling more than 56,000 square feet of living space; landscaping and upgrading at least two acres of grounds; and providing critical infrastructure. The value of Pardee Homes' in-kind donation exceeded $1 million.
About Pardee Homes
Pardee Homes is a multi-regional builder and developer of master-planned communities, new homes, apartments and business parks in California and Nevada. Originating in 1921 as Pardee Construction Company, the company in 1969 became the largest wholly owned subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company (WRECO), a division of Weyerhaeuser. Today's Pardee Homes provides entry-level homes through upper-end designs, with prices ranging from the mid $200,000s to $1 million plus. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and maintains regional operations based in Corona, Sacramento, San Diego and Valencia, California, and in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit www.pardeehomes.com.
About HomeAid
HomeAid is a leading national non-profit provider of housing for today's homeless. Founded in 1989, the organization has built housing for more than 73,000 men, women and children. Established by the Building Industry Association of Southern California, an affiliate of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), HomeAid has completed more than 141 housing projects nationwide with another 60 projects currently in development. HomeAid includes a network of 21 chapters in 15 states and four offices in Newport Beach, CA (headquarters); Washington, D.C.; Augusta, GA; and New Orleans, LA (for hurricane-rebuilding efforts). For more information about HomeAid, call 1-888-3HOMEAID or visit www.homeaid.org.
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