“It has been the time, effort, hard work, caring hearts and endless paperwork of many individuals to make this all happen for us. We certainly couldn't have made it to this point without all of your help.” —Lorraine S. re: Hayden Home
Kevin Freihoefer, VP Wealth Management Group (left); Corey Orton, Redmond Branch Manager; and Mike Sventek, District Manager, present check to Kim Manie-Oskoii.
A $1,500 gift from Wells Fargo will make it possible for more local residents to learn how to buy a home.
The financial services company donated the funds to Families Forward, a Redmond-based nonprofit organization. Mike Sventek, Corey Orton and Kevin Freihoefer of Wells Fargo presented a check to Kim Manie-Oskoii, representing Families Forward’s HomeQuest program.
“We appreciate the Wells Fargo’s support for our HomeQuest program,” said Manie-Oskoii. “It helps families prepare to be successful homeowners through a mentoring process. Even in today’s economic climate there are opportunities for homebuyers who are educated and prepared.”
Families Forward will use the gift to support its homebuyer education and counseling efforts. The HomeQuest program manager works one-on-one with clients to help them develop and implement an action plan to get ready to purchase a home. Accessing education on credit and credit repair, financial literacy, the home buying process and various types of down payment assistance and loan programs are key components of the program.
The program also offers various home buying opportunities through its partnerships. It works not only with community non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity and the Hayden Giving Fund, but also with local for profit builders and developers.
“We try to assist the family in finding the home they can realistically afford,” continues Manie-Oskoii. “They may qualify for a Habitat home or they may be interested in one of our land-lease homes where we lease the land to them but they own the actual home. They may also buy in the private market, especially right now while home prices are the lowest they have been in quite a while.”
“Homeownership helps stabilize neighborhoods and build healthy communities,” said Sventek. “For that reason, affordable housing is a large focus area for our community giving,” Freihoefer added.
Through its housing foundation, Wells Fargo provides sustainable homeownership opportunities for low-to moderate-income people by providing volunteer and financial resources to established local and national nonprofit housing organizations, such as HomeQuest and Habitat for Humanity.
Families Forward was created by Housing Works, the regional housing authority, to provide the resources and collaborative partnerships needed to offer its client families greater access to services and educational programs. The intent is to increase the numbers of households achieving economic independence and self-sufficiency and to provide opportunities for affordable homeownership.
Other Families Forward programs include the Opportunities for Kids Scholarship Fund; Ready-to-Rent, to help renters overcome past issues that are locking them out of the rental market; the Gateway Center, for career development which includes a boutique to provide program graduates with free work-appropriate clothing; and one-on-one counseling and education for lower income households who may be struggling to become or succeed as first time homeowners.
