FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
June
28, 2005 Janelle
Simmons, 614.221.9195
Phil Urban, President
and CEO of Grange Insurance Companies host
the Community Shelter Board’s
11th Annual Mel Schottenstein Birthday
Celebration
Raises $1 million
The Mel Schottenstein
Birthday Celebration is an annual fundraising event that supports the work of
the Community Shelter Board (CSB) and its partner agencies in our community’s
effort to end homelessness. Phil Urban,
this year’s event honorary chairman, asked the audience to imagine how harsh
homelessness seems through the eyes of a child, “Imagine the hopelessness, the
devastating and deforming impact for each child affected and the impact on our
community. To borrow from Mel Schottenstein, this simply isn’t acceptable. As a community we must do better than that”,
said Urban.
Hulanda Stacy, a formerly homeless individual and the 2005 Mel Schottenstein Leadership Award recipient shared her story
of becoming homeless and how she overcame homelessness through Rebuilding Lives
program led by the Community Shelter Board.
Stacy, who had been homeless for more than three years, secured a
permanent apartment through the Rebuilding Lives initiative in February
2004. Since that time, Stacy has secured
a job, has become involved with tenant activities, and has testified before
City Council and state representatives on the importance of maintaining support
for shelter programs and supportive housing projects. “I never imagined that I
would be here today or that I would be in a position to help others as I have
been helped. It’s incredible to me that
I am in the process of rebuilding my life and helping others to do the same”,
said Stacy.
The Rebuilding Lives
plan is a coordinated, community wide approach that integrates short and
long-term strategies to reduce homelessness in our community. Since the implementation of Rebuilding Lives
in 1999, more than 227 new slots of emergency services have been created and
more than 518 supportive housing units have been developed.
With significant support from
Grange Insurance Companies as the 2005 Lead Corporate Sponsor, the Mel Schottenstein Birthday Celebration raised more than $1
million dollars to support the Community Shelter Board and its partner
agencies. The event co-chairs, Julie Schottenstein Saar and Amy Schottenstein, daughters of Mel Schottenstein,
are thrilled to be leading the event for the Schottenstein
Family. “We are honored to be able to
carry on the legacy of our father and other family members who have been
committed to ending homelessness in our community. It means a lot that we’ve been able to make a
significant impact with the funds raised”, said
CSB
was founded in 1986 by Mel Schottenstein because of
his bottom line inability to accept any situation that left a man, woman, or
child without food or shelter. CSB and Columbus have received national
recognition from HUD, Esquire Magazine, the
New York Times, and the Christian Science Monitor for our
response to homelessness. Through a coordinated, targeted, and cost effective
approach, CSB’s network of 11 partner agencies
annually provide emergency services to approximately 3,516 homeless single men,
1,103 homeless single women, and 2,291 persons in families, including 1,445
children.
The Community Shelter Board, established in 1986, is a
non-profit intermediary organization that coordinates community based efforts,
fosters collaboration, and funds services to assist families and individuals in
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