• Services
  • Management
    • Case Studies
  • Receivership
  • Construction
  • Acquisitions
    • The District at Mountain Vista
    • The District at Greenville
    • The Breakers at Windmill Lakes
    • Westcreek at River Oaks
  • Development
    • The District at Greenville
    • The District at Mountain Vista
    • The Alameda Condominiums
• Communities
  • Communities By State
  • U.S. Map of Communities
• About Kaplan
  • Services
  • Client Testimonials
  • Profiles
  • Case Studies
• News
• Careers
• Client Login
• Employee Login
• Contact Us
• Home

Kaplan Gives Veterans A Hand Up with Low Cost Housing 

“It is these sorts of efforts that foster the sense of neighborhood we try to create in contemporary management,” he said.

Looking to boost its civic involvement company-wide, Kaplan Management began considering new ways to give back to the community early in 2009.

“As a veteran, I thought of our U.S. military personnel and our war veterans – a group that is often overlooked but is in dire need of assistance,” said Summers.

Left: Matthew Summers and Michael Kaplan of Kaplan Management accept a token of thanks from Vernon Bagley, president of Project We Remember. Right: Lucy Kiley, Bez Vasquez, Michael Kaplan, Matthew Summers, Michelle Rhone, Darlene Hunter, Jamila Ross, Ginger Posey and Shelly Carrillo.

Enter Project We Remember, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for U.S. military veterans and their families. Project We Remember would identify deserving veterans who would be awarded rent-free apartment homes in one of the properties Kaplan owned, operated and managed.

Kaplan officially rolled out the partnership with Project We Remember during the grand opening of The District at Mountain Vista in Mesa, Ariz. Public officials and military personnel were invited to participate and make remarks, and an Army veteran and his family moved into an apartment unit that same day. Media covered the event, which was well received by the community.

Because of the program’s success in Mesa, the Kaplan executive team decided to extend its partnership with Project We Remember across the company’s entire portfolio. September 11 was selected as the date to recognize this commitment, and Kaplan donated apartment homes in four of its Houston-area properties: Westcreek, Parkside, Breakers at Windmill Lakes and Stone Mist.

Vernon Bagley, executive director of Project We Remember, met with social workers at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center to identify veterans with short and long-term housing needs. Some veterans travel long distances to the VA Medical Center because they require chemo or physical therapy but cannot afford to put themselves and their families in a hotel for an extended period of time. Some of the donated units will be used in these cases. The other units may be used for veterans, identified by the VA Medical Center, who have longer-term needs: those who are homeless or find themselves suddenly unemployed or are just returning from combat.

Kaplan plans to extend its collaboration with Project We Remember in the spring to include its portfolios in Dallas, Fort Worth and Arkansas and hopes to extend the effort even further.

“We are also actively recruiting the ownership of our fee-managed assets to participate in the program and plan to work with Project We Remember to find veterans in similar circumstances that could use a hand up,” said Summers. “There are many emotional and physical issues tied to military deployment, and many veterans need time to readjust to civilian life. With Project We Remember, we’re helping to make that transition a little easier by providing veterans with a low-cost place to live to help them get back on their feet. All of us at Kaplan Management are honored to help our veterans find a place called home.”

•  del.icio.us •  digg •  facebook

Source: Abode Magazine
http://www.abodeonline.com

Related Documents:

Content Tags: community news •

Other Recent Articles:

Return to the Kaplan Management Articles Search Page