Scores of Help the Homeless Community Walks to Occur Across Washington

More than 100 Community Walks Registered for Fannie Mae's Help the Homeless Program

Keosha Burns
202-752-7840

August 3, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC – More than 100 Community Walks have been registered across the Washington metropolitan area as part of Fannie Mae’s Help the Homeless Program (HTH), organizers announced today. In its 25^th year, HTH has made a meaningful difference in addressing the issue of homelessness across the region and this year, 77 of the area’s leading nonprofit organizations committed to serving the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless will benefit from funds raised through the program.

Community Walks, either hosted by the beneficiary organization or a supporter of the organization, are designed to bring members of the community together to raise awareness of the issues surrounding homelessness and raise funds to help homeless families and individuals. Recently, innovative and unique Community Walks have been planned including a singing competition, Zumba class, harvesting event, and more, all with the goal of raising critical funds to end homelessness.

“We are very pleased that more than 100 Community Walks have already been planned as part of Fannie Mae’s Help the Homeless Program and we are expecting many more this fall once area children return to school. For 25 years, we’ve been committed to supporting organizations that serve the homeless in our nation’s capital-area and have seen the positive impact Community Walks across the region have on raising awareness and driving action,” said Rosie Allen-Herring, Senior Director, Office of Community Investment and Engagement for Fannie Mae.

Earlier this year, Fannie Mae announced its plan to introduce HTH to five additional cities with the goal of building the capacity of the following beneficiaries:

            Atlanta: Nicholas House [1]
            Chicago: Hesed House [2]
            Dallas: The Bridge [3]
            Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service & Education Center [4]
            Los Angeles:  United Way of Greater Los Angeles [5]

 In 2011, HTH raised more than $6.2 million and engaged more than 115,000 community members through 771 community walks across the Washington region. Several HTH events have already occurred in the area since May 2012, and program organizers anticipate hundreds more will occur by the program’s end in November. 

HTH beneficiary organizations provide a range of services to children, families, and veterans facing homelessness including permanent affordable and supportive housing, emergency shelter, and homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing that allows clients to avoid homelessness. Many beneficiary organizations offer support services such as food programs, case management, health care, child care, drug and alcohol treatment, job training and placement, housing counseling, financial skills training, and more.

Since 1988, HTH – the nation’s largest fundraising effort focused on homelessness – has raised more than $90 million for nonprofit organizations. To learn more about Fannie Mae’s Help the Homeless Program, please visit www.hthwalks.org [6].