November 15, 2007

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP BRINGS HEALTHY "GREEN" RENOVATION TO HOME FOR LOW-INCOME CHINATOWN SENIOR ON NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY DAY

San Francisco, CA—As National Philanthropy Day is recognized across the country, a unique partnership between companies, nonprofits, and volunteers has come together here in San Francisco to brighten up the community rooms at Bayside Elderly Apartments, a home for low-income seniors in the heart of Chinatown. The entire renovation is being done with environmentally friendly materials that will be safe for Bayside's elderly residents, who use the space for meetings, classes, social activities, and community events.

"We're so happy to be able to help brighten the lives of low-income seniors in Chinatown for National Philanthropy Day," said Michael Catalano of The Home Depot. The Home Depot donated $3,000 worth of supplies for the renovation, and ten Home Depot employees came on their day off to lend a hand.

Bayside Apartments, providing 30 units of affordable senior housing, are owned and managed by Chinatown Community Development Center (Chinatown CDC), a local nonprofit organization.

"Many thanks to the generosity of Home Depot and its employees and collaborating vendors for designating Bayside Elderly Apartments for their community service project," said Gordon Chin, Chinatown CDC's Executive Director. "Thanks also to Bay Area LISC for making all this possible."

Bay Area LISC—the Bay Area Local Initiatives Support Corp.—is an organization which supports the work of Chinatown CDC and other local nonprofits. LISC brought together The Home Depot, ICI/Glidden Paint, and the other partners who made the renovation possible.

"This is a perfect example of good Corporate Philanthropy," said Stephanie Forbes, Director of Bay Area LISC. "It brings together civic engagement, volunteerism, resources, and great partners to bring not only a new look to Bayside, but also a healthy environment that will bring cheer to these seniors' lives and help build community."

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About the partners:

The Home Depot is committed to being an exceptional corporate citizen. The Home Depot seeks to impact the broader community by building mutually beneficial relationships with nonprofit partners and making positive contributions to the communities in which they share. The Home Depot acts as a catalyst for positive change by building and empowering communities for sustainable prosperity.

Bay Area LISC makes neighborhood dreams a reality by working with cities, residents and non-profit organizations and key public and private partners to transform distressed communities and neighborhoods into healthy ones. By providing capital, technical expertise, training and information, Bay Area LISC supports the development of local leadership and the creation of affordable housing, commercial, industrial and community facilities.

Chinatown Community Development Center is a community-based, non-profit organization which operates as an affordable housing developer, property manager, tenant and community organizer and community planner involved in the development of open space and the improvement of transit and the quality of life in many of San Francisco's low-income neighborhoods.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Somers at Bay Area LISC at (415) 397-7322 x 28 or Forrest Gok at Chinatown Community Development Center at (415) 984-1472.