Meet the Neighbors are Impacting!
Click the images below to meet real Treasure Valley neighbors that you have supported with your time, talents and gifts.
With your continued support, we can meet the needs of many more in our community. Thank you for your generosity!
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Meet Pat, Rake Up Boise Recipient
Pat was one of 825 recipients who received help this year through the generous work of Rake Up Boise volunteers. An enthusiastic team from Eagle Home Mortgage took on the task of raking Pat's yard this year - but they did even more.
While raking, one of the kids in the group needed to use the restroom, and Pat kindly offered for him to come into her home. While inside, one of the volunteers noticed Pat had laundry hanging all over her kitchen, including wet, heavy towels. Pat admitted that her dryer had broken 7 months earlier and she had not been able to repair or replace it. In fact, her washer was not working properly either.
A month later, the same volunteer heard about a nice washer and dryer set that was to be donated and he instantly thought of Pat! A few of the volunteers coordinated the removal of her old set and the installation of a working washer and dryer for Pat.
Now Pat not only has her yard cleaned up and ready for winter, but she also does not have the burden of handwashing and hanging up wet, heavy laundry each week!
Meet Jeremiah, New Homeowner
Jeremiah, a single dad of a 9-year old boy, recently found NeighborWorks® Boise when he was looking for an affordable place to live. Plagued by unhealthy relationships in both his and his son’s lives, Jeremiah decided they needed a fresh start and moved back home to Boise. The father and son stayed with family and then rented a room for a few months, before eventually finding an apartment.
As Jeremiah worked and attended school full time, he started considering homeownership, so his Realtor® referred him to NeighborWorks® Boise. He received one-on-one Pre-purchase Counseling where he was advised to start the home buying process by cleaning up his credit before applying for a loan, and we gave him professional tips on how to do it. While working to improve his credit scores, Jeremiah also attended our Homebuyer Education seminar. Through the seminar and counseling, he found and recieved down payment and closing cost assistance grants from both Autumn Gold Affordable Housing and the City of Boise to make his mortgage payment affordable.
This spring, Jeremiah not only graduated at the top of his collegiate class, but he also bought his first home - a place for his son to thrive and for them both to have a fresh start!
Meet Evoluntionary Coders, Gateway Crossing Apartments
NeighborWorks® Boise teams up with many community partners to bring quality after school programs to our rental communities so our residents have safe, educational and easy-to-access programs during after school hours.
For example, Idaho After School Network partnered with us to offer the Zero Robotics ISS Programming Challenge last summer at Gateway Crossing Apartments. This 5-week summer STEM program introduced students to computer programming, robotics, space engineering, hands on science experiments and teamwork. The Zero Robotics program gave students the opportunity to compete on a state-wide basis. The students then participated live from the International Space Station (ISS) to compete against teams across the country, while being refereed by a NASA astronaut. During the program, students also had the rare opportunity to meet a NASA astronaut, Steve Swanson. Steve shared with the team about his experiences in space, and assisted the coders to develop strategies to write a winning code for the competition.
The team at Gateway Crossing, known as the Evolutionary Coders, achieved second place in the state of Idaho. They collaborated with the first place team to write a code to win the national competition on August 12th that was broadcast live from NASA with help from another sponsor of the program, MIT. The team participated in activities that engaged their minds and further intrigued them to pursue opportunities available for STEM education in their future!
Meet Gerda, Paint The Town Recipient
Gerda, an 85-year old widow who is legally blind and had a heart attack two and a half years ago, is not one to let adversity hold her back or become idle. After leaving Germany for America during WWII at the age of 19, she kept herself busy over the years working jobs in customer service, taking care of Alzheimer’s patients, and even repairing computer parts for Hewlett Packard.
This self-sufficiency and pride in her work has carried over to this day. Even though Macular Degeneration has taken most of her sight and she has to use a walker to get around, Gerda still mops her kitchen floor by herself.
While she takes pride in keeping the interior of her home clean, her failing eye-sight prevented her from noticing that the exterior needed a bit of work too. Several months ago, Gerda received a letter from her homeowners association, letting her know that it was time to paint her home – the place where she has lived for 23 years, since it was first built. Receiving this notice prompted her to apply to Paint The Town™.
A team from Zions Bank was selected to paint Gerda’s house. They also did many repairs and her house was good as new when they left.
“They were the most kind, extraordinary and beautiful human beings I’ve ever met,” she said with sincerity. “He brought three girls, the youngest was 5 years old, and they planted flowers. They were big helpers!”
Your support makes a huge difference. THANK YOU!