VeteranWINS ® grant program addresses veteran homelessness and sustainable housing
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Wells
Fargo Housing Foundation today announced that its third annual
VeteranWINS
®
grant program will donate $300,000 across
nine nonprofits to address sustainable housing for military veterans.
Awarded through a competitive application process, VeteranWINS grants
support community-based nonprofits focused on addressing veteran
homelessness, transitional housing, and low- to moderate-income veteran
home rehabilitation.
“Everyone deserves a safe and secure place to live, especially our
veterans, who have already sacrificed so much for our country,” said
Jeff Chavannes, VeteranWINS program manager at Wells Fargo and an Army
veteran. “The VeteranWINS program is just one way Wells Fargo is doing
our part to ensure veterans are being taken care of. We are proud to
support the great work these nonprofits are doing for veterans in their
communities.”
Launched in 2016, the VeteranWINS grant program has awarded a total of
$600,000 in grants for nonprofits to directly support housing programs
that address veteran homelessness.
The 2018 VeteranWINS program grants are awarded to:
Large Communities: Five $40,000 Grants
-
Collingswood, N.J. – Volunteers of America Delaware Valley. Funding
will be used to help veterans overcome common, significant obstacles
when transitioning back into the community, such as procuring photo
IDs and other pertinent documents, covering moving costs and security
deposits, and gaining access to efficient utilities.
-
El Paso, Texas – Opportunity Center for the Homeless. Funding
will be used for needed upgrades to the kitchen and dining space for
up to 20 homeless veterans supported on any given day in the
transitional living center.
-
Los Angeles – New Directions for Veterans. Funding will
be used to install an electric door lock system throughout the highly
trafficked Veteran Opportunity Center to better ensure the safety of
the homeless male veterans who utilize the 112 transitional and 40
bridge housing bed units the center supports.
-
Phoenix – Catholic Charities Community Services, Inc. Funding
will be used to rehab rooms as part of a larger renovation of a space
that supports 70 veterans in a homeless, transitional program by
installing closets, shelving, and bedding during the final phase.
-
San Antonio, Texas – Soldiers’ Angels. Funding will be
used to purchase a cargo van that will help provide supportive
services, such as mobile food distributions, box lunch deliveries, and
hygiene kit distributions. This will help reach more homebound
veterans who do not have access to transportation.
Small to Medium Communities: Four $25,000 Grants
-
Augusta, Maine – Betsy Ann Ross House of Hope. Funding
will be used to replace the roof and siding of the Homeless Women
Veterans shelter. These fixes will enable the organization to start
work on their “step up” efficiency unit in support of veterans who are
ready to begin transitioning to permanent, independent housing.
-
Bloomsburg, Pa. – Columbia County Housing Corporation. Funding
will be used for the Eagle Scout project of a Life Scout who is
working with the Columbia County Housing Corporation and the
Department of Veterans Affairs in Wilkes-Barre to build a small house
for a veteran in need. The home will be a 550-square-foot,
stick-built, sustainable house located in Berwick, Pa.
-
Sheridan, Wyo. – Volunteers of America Northern Rockies. Funding
will be used for supportive service common areas for up to 31 homeless
veterans. The grant will provide upgrades to appliances and wardrobe
closets to improve food storage and food preparation and provide a
place to wash, dry and store personal belongings.
-
Waterloo, Iowa – Americans for Independent Living. Funding will
be used to complete a second veterans’ transitional home. This will
help enable more veterans to become independent and productive in the
community as they graduate from transitional housing to their own safe
and affordable permanent housing.
Since 2012, Wells Fargo has donated more than $100 million to support
military members, veterans and their families through sustainable
housing initiatives, financial education, and career transition.
Included in this total, the company has donated more than 350 homes,
valued at over $55 million, to veterans in all 50 states, and the Wells
Fargo Housing Foundation has provided more than $10.5 million in grants
to veteran-related nonprofits since 2012. Learn more at www.wellsfargo.com/military
and https://stories.wf.com/series/military.
About the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation
Since its inception in 1993, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has
invested more than $190 million in affordable housing initiatives
serving low- and moderate-income households – including for seniors,
veterans, and families – through community revitalization efforts. It
has mobilized more than 4.7 million team member volunteer hours to build
and rehabilitate nearly 7,100 homes and counting. Learn more at www.wellsfargo.com/about/corporate-responsibility/community-giving/housing-foundation.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based
financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s
vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them
succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco,
Wells Fargo provides banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and
commercial finance through 8,200 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet
(wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and
territories to support customers who conduct business in the global
economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one
in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was
ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest
corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also
available at Wells
Fargo Stories.
