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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LONG BEACH, Calif. — LINC Cares, the resident services program at LINC Housing Corporation communities throughout California, encourages community activities and personal growth with a variety of programs and services that aim to enhance the quality of life for residents. “From experience, we know that the quality of our communities has to include quality of life for our residents,” said Maria Marquez, director of resident services. “As a housing developer, we understand that providing services can be just as important as building homes. If you think about how central housing is to every aspect of a person’ life, you begin to see how powerful an impact LINC and LINC Cares can have.” Launched in late 2004, LINC Cares currently offers programs and services at properties in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Services cover a variety of areas including financial and personal development, health awareness, community involvement, recreation, and cultural enrichment. Specific programs include computer and internet classes, job training and counseling, financial literacy classes, homework help, flu shots, arts and crafts classes, volunteer opportunities and field trips to museums, shows and sites. Because seniors who volunteer enjoy more years of active living, LINC Cares has partnered with neighborhood schools and service organizations to create opportunities for volunteerism. For example, seniors in San Juan Capistrano have teamed with Girl Scouts to design and decorate holiday cards for Children’s Hospital of Orange County, while residents in La Palma have made more than 300 comfort pillows for local survivors of breast cancer. Financial literacy classes help residents at both senior and family communities to build savings and financial stability while protecting themselves from pitfalls like high-interest credit and payday loans. And in inner-city neighborhoods where children have limited opportunity for outdoor activity, LINC Cares has coordinated a nature hike, giving residents the opportunity to explore local nature with family and friends. After-school programs are offered at City Gardens in Santa Ana and Beechwood in Lancaster. Both programs aim to provide children 5-12 a safe, fun and academic environment when they return home from school. The program includes homework help, one-on-one tutoring, arts and crafts, lesson on computer use and internet research, field trips, holiday celebrations and family night events to encourage parent participation. Recently, LINC Cares teamed with Theatre of Hearts/Youth First to bring the Saturday Arts Project to Bartlett Hill in the Chinatown district of downtown Los Angeles. The program offered children an opportunity to express their creativity through visual aids, clay, painting, drawing, language and body movements. At the conclusion of the program, the children’s work was showcased for the community. In addition to providing services, LINC Cares aims to build networks of mutual support. Residents meet one another at various activities and are able to find ways to assist each other throughout their daily lives. LINC Cares also has created resource guides to help resident connect with low-cost and free service providers in their areas. LINC Cares programming is provided with support from LINC’s corporate and foundation sponsors. To date, sponsors include AmeriCorps, Bank of America, Century Housing, Citibank, Community College Foundation, Freddie Mac, Simpson Housing Solutions, US Bank, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo.
About LINC Housing Corporation |
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