OC Charities
Building affordable housing on church properties and faith based campuses
Today we’re bringing you notes on a feel good panel we recently attended offering unique properties for affordable housing – churches! There were over 100 attendees on the zoom webinar from various faiths, geographic areas, and careers. It was neat to see the path of convergence among so many diverse and brilliant minds. Thank you to our friends over at YIMBY for putting this together ❤
Our Affordable Housing Panelists were:
Jill Shook, Making Housing Happen
Jill assists churches in exploring housing in site. She’s also an author.
Sarah Walker and Alexa Washburn, National Community Renaissance
National Community Renaissance is a non-profit affordable housing developer.
Honorable Rusty Bailey, former mayor of Riverside
Mr Bailey is now the director of Path of Life, a nonprofit with programs for housing, outreach, employment and more.
Bishop John Taylor 3rd, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles
A faith based community of 147 congregations, 40 schools, and 18 major institutions.
Elizabeth Hansburg, YIMBY
Thank you to Elizabeth & YIMBY for bringing this panel together. YIMBY advocates for affordable housing in California.
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Bishop John Taylor 3rd led with some thoughts of ‘why’ from the perspective of the church. He said “We follow a savior who cares for the least among us. Helping with housing is literally showing love to our neighbor.” Furthermore, from a Christian standpoint, he mentioned one should note plenty of examples in the Bible where Jesus or the disciples expressed gratitude to someone who put them up for the night, or served them a meal.
One of the core values of most churches is to care about their congregation and the community, basically to be a salt and a light to everyone, regardless of their belief system. Obviously some churches have really missed the mark on this, which has caused attendance decline, and possibly some unused space(s) on the property. Churches who have stayed in touch with the daily needs of congregations know that there can be many temporary housing needs to fill. This can include members who are experiencing job loss, abuse, or catastrophe in their lives.
One way churches can help serve these needs is by offering affordable housing. It helps further a shared mission, helps the community, creates a legacy, and builds bonds for that organization to become a trusted staple in the neighborhood. Heck, if you’re a church in LA…just sharing your parking is a huge blessing :). But to promote Fair and affordable housing – now that’s a big stride toward The Great Commandment.
Here’s a helpful video YIMBY made for the city of Carlsbad, CA that explains why all cities need to plan for affordable housing. One can easily see how churches and city governments can build a bridge to Affordable Housing together by repurposing unused or under utilized space:
Nice concept repurposing church land. But what does it REALLY look like, and what’s the timeline?!
Southern California has a great example in Riverside with Mayor Rusty Bailey – and his ‘Love Your Neighbor Initiative’. Here’s a timeline screenshot that Mr. Bailey discussed for the City of Riverside, CA.
Interested? According to the experts, just 1/2 acre can work. Close to transit is helpful, but not required. Would you like an example to take to your town? We love those, and the city of Riverside in the spirit of ‘teaching a man to fish’ has shared a template for faith-based affordable housing with all of us. Check it out!
National Community Renaissance’s Sarah Walker has been working on an affordable senior housing project called Orchard View Gardens in Buena Park. Sarah also mentioned a development in Santa Ana, and has been bringing various affordable housing projects to fruition in OC. Here’s a site plan Sarah shared of Orchard View Gardens. As you can see the space offers multiple uses for both seniors and the community:
Getting your church started with affordable housing
It is possible to add income to various faith based properties and help with needs in your city – you can get started by contacting any of the experts on the panel, and your city planner. They need you to get the ball rolling.
We get it…you’re thinking this all sounds really cool… but how can someone reading this blog post who isn’t involved in building, zoning, or church leadership help?? Glad you asked!
5 Ways YOU can promote affordable housing in your community:
- Join YIMBY www.peopleforhousing.org & donate.
- Advocate for the city you live in to put in plans to change zoning.
- Particularly, encourage cities to do an ‘overlay zone’ for church properties to allow anyone who wants to develop this overlay zoning ability. This includes adaptive reuse.
- Order & read Jill’s book: Making Housing Happen, 2nd Edition: Faith-Based Affordable Housing Models
- SHARE this post with a decision maker at a church, or on your social media. Let’s spread more good word.
Want more info? You can watch the full replay here: https://youtu.be/GntTXqYXcfQ?t=22
Have other ideas for affordable housing or how churches can help incorporate extra land to serve the community? Comment below!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )THANKS clients & Family Jules Art Gallery!
We just wanted to send a huge thanks to everyone who was able to make it out for our first ever client appreciation event on 5/20/17 🙂 It was absolutely wonderful to catch up and hear your Real Estate Stories. We laughed, reminisced, mixed, snacked, & got a little messy. We thought it would be fun to do a ‘paint night’, where both creativity & vino were flowing. WOW did everyone’s paintings turn out cool!
We purposefully selected this tree. We thought it conveyed such a great light and energy, with a symmetrical yet organic flow. It’s like a ‘tree of life’ or a ‘family tree’; both of which make a great fit in our client’s homes. We want you to have solid roots, bear much fruit, and always be growing.
Making an Orange County Masterpiece
It was an honor to color our canvases in a REAL Fullerton art gallery, Family Jules. Be sure to give them a like on Facebook or follow @FamilyJulesGallery on Instagram. Family Jules supports local artists by giving them a space to feature their art for a reasonable price, and helping artists market, and sell, & network. It’s a really neat concept and we we were happy to support them by donating our easels. Now they can now extend shows onto the courtyard, or hold more paint nights in the future. WIN-WIN. Our goal is to bring awareness and light into other cool venues like this with our future client appreciation events…so stay tuned! Feel free to comment below if you have suggestions.
Just a reminder we love and appreciate all our clients no matter how much we hear from you! Sometimes it’s every 5 years, other times it’s every 5 days…we’re here to support all your real estate dreams and goals. Stay in touch and let us be your resource to grow a solid real estate portfolio. 949-338-7408 or angie@askangie.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Touch the Lives of Children This Year
Right now you can really make a difference in the lives of some very special children. Metro Estates is proud to be sponsoring a 4th Annual Essentials For Young Lives campaign through HomeAid Orange County. Essentials for Young Lives is a community-wide effort to gather and distribute a wide range of necessities to homeless infants and toddlers. The number of young people in this category is swelling. In fact, mothers and children currently are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.
For those wishing to contribute to this very worthy cause, drop boxes are conveniently located in the office. And be sure to ask family, friends, and clients if they’d like to participate.
Here’s What’s Needed
- Diapers
- Baby Wipes
- Baby Food
- Baby Hygiene Products
Drop-Off Address and Hours:
120 Newport Center Drive #160
Newport Beach CA 92660
9:30am – 5:30pm
If you ‘d like any further information about Essentials for Young Lives, I’ll be happy to help. You can connect with me at 949.338.7408 or angie@askangie.com, @AngieWeeks or @WeeksTeam.
Thanks in advance for your support!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )You’re Invited to Tee It Up Fore Marines
Good news, people. The city of Mission Viejo is offering you a golden opportunity to strut your stuff on the golf green and lend a helping hand to some very special people. On Friday, March 25, the city will be holding its first annual Tee It Up Fore Marines golf tournament. Tee off time is noon sharp at the Marine Memorial Golf Course in Camp Pendleton. The event will benefit the 
marines, sailors, and families of Mission Viejo’s adopted Headquarters Battalion of the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton. Sponsoring the much-anticipated tournament are the Marine and Sailors Adoption Committee, Mission Viejo Community Foundation, and the city itself.
All community members, businesses, and organizations are encouraged to participate in or help sponsor the event. Sponsorships range from $200 to $5,000, but donations in any amount are more than appreciated. Auction and raffle items are also welcome.
Entry fees are as follows:
- $200 per individual golfer
- $800 for a foursome which includes a marine
In addition to feeding your hunger for competitive play, the event will feature a full course lunch and barbecue dinner. Plus an awards ceremony and much more.
Registration and sponsorship opportunities are now available. All those offering their support should make checks payable to the Mission Viejo Community Foundation and mail them to the Marine Golf Tournament c/o Mission Viejo Community Foundation, 200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo, CA 92691.
For more information, visit www.teeitupforemarines.com or call 949-470-3061.
And if you really can’t get enough of the green, why not make your home where your heart is? Mission Viejo boasts an outstanding selection of gorgeous golf course homes guaranteed to keep you a put away from the action. We’ll be more than happy to set up a custom property search for you. Or simply contact me directly for more information. Connect with me @ 949.338.7408 or angie@askangie.com, @AngieWeeks or @WeeksTeam.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )HABITAT FOR HUMANITY PARTNERS WITH ORANGE COUNTY YPN
Hot off the press!!!!
Mission Viejo, January 12, 2011 – Young Professionals Network partners with Habitat for Humanity on a Mission Viejo Rehabilitation Construction project. This exciting event will take place on January 21, 2011 from 7:30am-3:30pm and the location’s address is 22908 Via Nuez, #44 Mission Viejo, CA 92691. Young Professionals Network partners with Habitat for Humanity in an effort to give back to the community.
Orange County Young Professionals Network (YPN) chapter represents the Orange County Association of Realtors. The YPN chapter will host monthly mixers and training sessions to educate and build individual business goals with associates and sponsors from all over Southern California.
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County transforms lives and communities by helping families in need purchase or renovate their homes.
Please comment if you are interested in joining us and get involved in this exciting event benefiting Habitat for Humanity and giving back to our community!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )OCYPN & Habitat For Humanity Schedule Mission Viejo Property Rehab
Orange County Young Professionals Network is very excited to be working with Jennifer Chung and the folks over at Habitat OC to improve our community 🙂
We’ve set a date to rehab a property in Mission Viejo!!
Date: Friday, January 21st
Time: 7am – 3pm
Place: address to be provided upon sign up; we know it’s a property Mission Viejo that needs our help!
Orange County Realtors of ALL ages…..would you like to join us? If you’ve never worked with Habitat check out http://www.habitatoc.org or read a post or two we’ve written over the years. They are a wonderful organization who focuses on putting roofs over deserving heads and educating about homeownership.
For more details tweet @weeksteam or @angieweeks, like OCYPN on Facebook, or email Angie@askangie.com. Hope to see you at the build!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Brighten a Child’s Holiday This Year
Now that there’s a chill in the air, we’re all looking for ways to bring a little warmth to our lives. And thanks to Toys for Tots, we all have an opportunity to bring a bit of warmth to others. Metro Estates is making it easy for us by holding their own Toys for Tots drive this holiday season. 
Right now you can make a difference in a child’s life by participating in this very worthy cause. Because of the anemic economy and displacement of families with children, your generosity will be needed more than ever this year. Ever see a child’s face brighten like holiday lights? That’s exactly what will happen when a lucky boy or girl unwraps the gift you’ve so generously given.
Keep in mind, we need everyone’s help. And not just those of us in the office. So please invite your family, friends, and clients to participate. We want to make this a holiday season these very deserving children will always remember. It’s easy. All you have to do is bring in any kind of unwrapped toy suitable for any age or gender.
Please drop off your gift at the following location, any time between 9 am and 5:30 pm. We’re conveniently close to Fashion Island, so feel free to stop by before or after your holiday shopping sprees.
Metro Estates
120 Newport Center Drive Suite 160
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Please see Brad or Joanie for more details on how your generosity can make a child smile this holiday season. You can also contact me if you’d like additional information.
949.338.7408 angie@askangie.com, @AngieWeeks or @WeeksTeam.
Thanks in advance…everyone.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Orange County Charity Event Brings Hope to Homeless
Be a Part of Project Playhouse
Hey, people. Wanted to tell you about a great cause, which is co-chaired by someone I’ve known for a while – Newport Beach Realtor, Brad Colemen. The cause is Project Playhouse. This 6 week-long charity event will raise money to build and renovate homeless shelters throughout Orange County. So far the project has helped HomeAid Orange County construct 44 local shelters.
Project Playhouse works like this. Various members of the building industry are creating a selection of amazing playhouses. 
These architectural masterpieces will be on display at the Irvine Spectrum for 6 weeks, beginning July 30th. Then on September 10, the playhouses will be auctioned off at a party taking place at an enchanting Crystal Cove estate. The proceeds will help fund the building and renovation of homeless shelters in Orange County. Tickets to the party are $250.00 each, with only a limited number available.
Brad is asking for your help in acquiring sponsors and donors for this high-profile event. I assure you, it’ll be great exposure for your company or business. The event draws thousands of guests, including many of OC’s elite. It even will receive a substantial amount of TV, print, radio, and Internet advertising. Sponsorships start at $1,000. For smaller companies wanting exposure, tax-deducible silent auction donations are welcome.
Please visit www.ProjectPlayhouse.org for more event details. And, if you or anyone you know is interested in a sponsorship, donation, tickets to party, or buying a playhouse, be sure to contact Brad Coleman.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Project Playhouse is in full swing
I took the day off real estate today to go and work the Project Playhouse raffle at the Angel’s game. Brad Coleman my manager at Metro Realty recruited both me and Bob O’Brien to help out…it was lots of fun…there were so many people at the game! I think we got a lot of tickets sold too.
The raffle entered people into a drawing to win this awesome Angel’s playhouse. The playhouse is AMAZING and was built by Taylor Woodrow builders:
I wanted to let you all know if you DON’T have a favorite charity yet, Homeaid is a good choice! They sponsor this Project Playhouse, which are those little doll houses you see every year about this time along PCH in Newport Beach by Fashion Island. I love working with Habitat for Humanity too, either charity helps to get people who deserve housing into a home, and you don’t have to be “a regular” to make a big difference.
If you’re still a volunteer-a-phob you can go to either website and donate. I keep thinking if everyone who walked past me today just bought ONE ticket…big groups can do so much when everyone gives a little together. If anyone has any other creative ways to reach out to Orange County feel free to comment!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )OC Community Realtors Come Together to Support Local Families
Hey friends,
Just wanted to tell you about something really special going on right here in Orange County.
Laguna Board of REALTORS®, Newport Beach
Association of REALTORS® and Orange County Association of REALTORS® are joining forces to raise $250,000 for the Homes for Heroes / Foundations for Families Project. It’s part of a community of 27 homes being built in San Juan Capistrano. 14 of the homes will be targeted for injured veterans and/or families of deceased veterans.
There will be a Donor Celebration on Oct 18th to kick off the event in the heart of San Juan Capistrano. The menu will be planned by Two Guys Grilling from Dana Point so come hungry!!Everyone who makes a donation of $100 or more is invited to attend.
If you are interested in making a donation just contact Teryll Hopper at Teryll@ocar.org. Sounds like it’s going to be a great way to celebrate a worthy cause and enjoy the Orange County scenery.
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Orange County, CA Volunteer Opportunities
This summer our Saddleback small group decided to volunteer with Orangewood childrens home. Orangewood had some great one time volunteer opportunities so I figured I would blog and get the word out 🙂
Last week we refereed, kept score, and served food at Orange High School for a 3-3 basketball tournament. Today we got up waaay too early (but it was worth it) for a program called “childspree”, sponsored by Orangewoods Jaycees foundation. Basically kids in need got to go on a shopping spree at Mervyns in Foothill Ranch. It was a really nice setup… each child got a book bag stuffed with a ton of supplies, and then they got to go into Mervyns and buy up to $100 worth of school clothes. Each child had a volunteer personal shopper to help them find their sizes and styles. I helped a boy named Andrew he got some really nice clothes and shoes. They have lots of great sales right now!
Foothill Ranch Dennys provided a a hash brown and egg breakfast for everyone, Starbucks donated coffee, FHR Police and Fire Dept stopped in, and there was a bounce house for the kids too. If you would like to get involved next year just get in touch with Sarah Whittenberg-Hawe @ 714-329-7521 or email mstrssyrah@aol.com .
Foothill Ranch is the “newer” area of Lake Forest, and it currently has 110 active properties ranging from 285K – 1.3M. It’s a very clean, well planned city, and it reminds me a bit of Aliso Viejo. We highly recommend it to first time buyers because you can get a newer property for a reasonable price. Currently there are 20 properties below 400K available – let us know if you would like to see any of these and we would be happy to schedule an appointment.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Help Orange County’s Homeless
This weekend Mike and I had the pleasure of attending the Homeaid “Limelight” event. Brad Coleman, our awesome office manager and VP of Metro Realty invited us to come.
We had never heard of Homeaid, and we thought maybe you had not either. Homeaid provides shelter and housing for people who are temporarily homeless. They originated in 1989 here in Orange County, and now they are nationwide 🙂
Currently, Homeaid is in progress of building a shelter for the homeless at the old Tustin Air Base. The facilities are so cool, they thought of everything!!! Its really more like a little community.
Why are we posting this? We feel its our job as Realtors in Orange County find people homes. Even if they can’t afford them, or if we don’t get paid when we find them. If you are lucky enough to be one who CAN afford, and who DOES have a roof over your head, consider contributing your time or talents to this great cause. For more information visit www.HomeAid.org – they are labeled a 4 star charity.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Remodeling in Orange County?
I got a GREAT remodeling tip yesterday, from Habitat for Humanity of all places 🙂
Did you know they have 2 REstores here in OC? Habitat REstores are actually home improvement warehouses that have new and gently used items for sale at ROCK BOTTOM prices. There’s one in Santa Ana, and another in Garden Grove. Supposedly the stores are stocked with overflow inventory from various SoCal builders, Lowes, and personal donations.
See http://www.restoreoc.org for hours and addresses.
At the volunteer meeting last evening in Orange, they mentioned that an interior designer just decided to redo their office, and dropped a ton of stuff off 🙂 The Habitat REstores sell these donated items and use the funds to finance new land or home building projects, so you are putting your money to a very good cause by buying your furniture, cabinets, or countertops there.
Another thing…Habitat does DEMO for FREE!!!!!! They have a philosophy that many of the items we “throw out” when remodeling our kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms really don’t deserve to clutter up a landfill, they deserve another go-around. (Especially for a family in need)
For example, the demo team has a Balboa Island demo to do this weekend, and they are salvaging all kinds of great items like appliances, cabinets, granite counters, & cedar ceilings. Then they have another one this month for a Corona del Mar kitchen that is way out dated (4 yrs old), the owner wants a new theme. He must be watching Top Chef or something!! I will take that Bosch dishwasher thank you very much, mine’s got to be 10 yrs old haha 🙂
If YOU are thinking of remodeling, there IS an order of operations to what will bring you back the most $$$ when you sell your home. Contact us for a free report, and then go nuts with the free demo and cheap REstores!. How fun and fantastic is that?!?! Serve others – serve yourself – save some money! Make sure to spread the good word!
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Orange County Real Estate Success 