ABHOW residents care deeply for their communities. This reality is driven home every time I visit an ABHOW campus. Residents are proud of their communities, and they cherish their neighbors. They know they shape the quality of life that they enjoy together.
So residents are very generous when it comes to improving their communities. Major fundraising efforts now underway at two campuses exemplify this generosity.
At The Terraces of Phoenix, funds are being raised for the construction of a $2 million resident activity center. Residents have said they want more space for dances, dedicated arts and crafts space, and room to accommodate community meetings.
At The Terraces at Los Altos, a multimillion dollar campus improvement effort has begun. Funds are being raised to upgrade older buildings and add ABHOW’s award-winning memory support program, The Grove. This will be the first memory support program in Los Altos, which means the town’s citizens will no longer have to leave Los Altos to find such critical services.
In both cases, residents are leading the fundraising effort through their local foundation committees, and they are giving themselves. In Phoenix, the resident fundraising goal is $1 million. Members of the local committee have personally pledged $60,000. In Los Altos, significant support is also coming from residents. The community recently held a Heritage Honor Society event for residents, board members and team members who have contributed at least $500 to the local endowment. Thirty-five people attended, yet far more qualified.
Someone not familiar with ABHOW communities might naturally ask why residents give when they pay to live here. It’s no mystery to me. ABHOW residents are naturally philanthropic. These are people who have supported charities all their lives. They give back to their communities to benefit others, not to benefit themselves.
Lou Binick, a resident in Phoenix and a member of the ABHOW Foundation board, puts it this way: “It’s my philosophy of the good life. When you help others, you’re helping yourself.”
