The Hill Family Home Receives a Makeover
For John and Ann Hill, being of service to their community has always been a priority. They first met while working at Foster Farms in Livingston, married in 1978 and purchased their beloved 1,247 square foot home in Winton, CA in 1979.

Winton is an unincorporated community in Merced County, only 2.5 miles north of Atwater with a population of just over 10,000. It was the perfect small town to grow some roots. Their love for serving their community was evident early on, both being heavily involved in their church from the start. Ann later left Foster Farms to devote herself to a ministry she founded called Women of Love Ministry in 1986 with a mission to help women and children in their community. A few years later, John started a church, and retired from Foster Farms in 2003.

Over time, and with the countless years of service to their community, their home slowly became neglected and in need of some love of its own. Read More.
Self-Help Enterprises Named Top 50 Developer
Affordable Housing Finance has named Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) among the nation's top 50 affordable housing developers. Ranked #45 on the list and among only eleven nonprofits, SHE started construction on 275 homes in 2019 and completed and occupied 136 homes. 

The award is a combination of rental housing units, self-help homeownership units, and new housing created through acquisition and rehabilitation. Currently, SHE has six rental projects under construction for 266 units and an additional 112 units that are fully funded. SHE is also constructing 171 single-family lots for use by self-help homebuilders. This honor is a culmination of all of SHE’s housing efforts, and a tribute to everyone working to ensure low-income working families in the SJV have access to safe and decent affordable housing. 

“We are proud to be recognized for our efforts to ramp up production of affordable housing to address our stubborn housing and homeless crisis in California,” said Tom Collishaw, President and CEO of Self-Help Enterprises. “Our challenge is to continue expanding our impact to keep pace in the midst of the current health crisis, which is certain to further impact the vulnerable populations we serve.”
Partner Highlight: US Bank
In this month’s Partner Highlight, we would like to highlight US Bank, a company focused on cultivating relationships that are built on trust. US Bank serves as an investor and lender on multiple multi-family housing developments, including Valley Oaks (Oakhurst), Mariposa Oaks (Mariposa), and Nupchi Xo’ Oy (Porterville). US Bank is also committed as the construction lender for Sugar Pine Village, which is a new 52-unit rental project in Madera, which will commence construction in August. They recently granted $13,000 to supplement our efforts during Covid-19.

“In these times of great doubt, we are extremely grateful to continue our partnership with US Bank, to provide construction funding and tax credit equity in new affordable housing developments,” said Betsy McGovern-Garcia, Director of SHE’s Real Estate Development Program. “We very much appreciate their ongoing commitment to creating more housing opportunities for families in our communities.” 

“U.S. Bank believes everyone deserves an opportunity to achieve financial stability, and access to affordable housing is a key part of that,” said Lisa Gutierrez, Senior Vice President with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, the tax equity and community investment subsidiary of U.S. Bank. “We’re proud to partner with Self Help Enterprises to provide much needed housing in California’s Central Valley. We’ve closed three projects to date, and Self-Help has shown itself to be a resourceful partner that brings creative solutions to issues facing our communities.”

Community Development: Test Well Underway for Plainview - Central
Plainview Mutual Water Company broke ground on earlier this month, with a test well for Plainview – Central. The test well is a culmination of a yearlong process of securing property for the future well site. Plainview Central is a water system of 42 connections with high levels of Nitrates. Once the test well is complete, Plainview Mutual Water Company will apply for construction assistance to drill a permanent well and connect Plainview Mutual Water Company and Plainview Central, thus assuring residents have access to safe drinking water. 
Other Activities & Events

A SHE MISSION MOMENT

Former SHE Community Development staff member, Maria Herrera, who currently works for Governor Newsom’s office, reached out to Emergency Services Manager Tami McVay on Saturday evening to ask if SHE could help in Raisin City. There was a brush fire which knocked out electricity to approximately 15 homes. All homes are on private domestic wells which means they lost access to water as well as all their fresh food. Tami reached out to Wal-Mart and was able to buy two pallets of bottled water at a discounted price which she delivered personally to each home. Maria Lemus arranged for Assemblyman Arambula’s office to help expedite PG&E’s installation of a temporary power pole, as well as Foodlink to provide emergency food boxes. This was a great collaboration between SHE, Governor Newsom’s office and Assemblyman Arambula’s office benefiting close to 50 residents. 
2020 RURAL COMMUNITIES WATER MANAGERS LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

Madera-area community water board members and staff, water leaders, and residents from rural communities are invited to participate in our 2020 Rural Communities Water Managers Leadership Institute. The six-month Madera Leadership Institute takes place June – November. Participants will develop tools and gain resources to effectively participate in regional water management programs.

Stipends of $100 per completed session (up to $600) will be available to all graduates of the program. To learn more or apply, visit the link below or contact Angela Islas at (559) 802-1613.

F  or more information click here.
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