April News from AHC News from AHC Inc. l April 2020 Developing affordable homes and helping communities thrive since 1975. How AHC is Combating Coronavirus We hope you and your family are well. This is a challenging time for all of us - particularly for the children, families and seniors we serve in our communities. Here at AHC, we are working hard to combat the crisis. Our priority is to keep our residents safely and securely housed and we are committed to achieving that mission. Many of our staff are working from home and staying in touch via email and video conference calls. Our front-line staff at the properties and our Resident Services team are doing everything they can to keep our apartment communities running smoothly while keeping people healthy and informed. It's demanding work during a stressful time, and we are grateful to all our dedicated staff members who are committed to supporting our residents during this crisis. Some specific steps we have taken: In anticipation of above-average delinquency rates, AHC Management developed a comprehensive protocol to help residents develop payment plans. Our goal is to keep residents successfully housed and help them get through this crisis. We are also making sure residents know late fees are being waived and evictions for nonpayment of rent are suspended through August 1. Our leasing offices are closed for in-person visits, but we are encouraging residents to call us. We are prioritizing emergency maintenance requests. Employees are required to social distance and wear masks and gloves when working near others. Our entire Resident Services staff (20+ professionals) has been mobilized to help families in crisis. We've also established a hotline to help residents reach out for help. To date, the Resident Services team has provided one-on-one help to nearly 500 families. We are sending weekly notices to all residents with emergency resource information targeted to the six Virginia and Maryland regions we serve. We created a new Coronavirus Resource for Residents on our website. Meanwhile, AHC projects and partnerships continue despite COVID-19. See below for some positive ways we are continuing to serve the community and support our affordable housing mission. We wish good health and safety to you and your family. And, as always, thank you for your support. Photos clockwise: Tim Bellaire created a virtual program to teach teens how to program calculators; Shardae Monroe kicked off AHC's new virtual reading program; Amazon delivered Rosie Riveters STEM kits to AHC students; Bernie Piper is tutoring his student virtually; and seniors at The Shelton are enjoying weekly lunches from BonChon through the "Buy a Neighbor Lunch" program. New Community Partnerships and Volunteer Initiatives to Meet COVID-19 Needs The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged lots of wonderful new partnerships and ways to support our vulnerable residents. Here are a few: The “Buy a Lunch for a Neighbor” program initiated by Volunteer Arlington is providing 20 seniors at The Shelton fresh lunches from BonChon. We’re expanding to more properties soon. Read WJLA article. We have a new partnership with Rosie Riveters, which concentrates on STEM learning for youth. They’ve developed hands-on, at-home boxes for elementary students through a partnership with Amazon. This week, 15 of our students received curated STEM kits to participate in hands-on learning from home. Learn more. We’ve also started a virtual reading program that includes our staff and volunteers reading books to our kids. Everyone self-records themselves so the sessions are homemade labors of love. New readings are uploaded weekly. We were fortunate to get a lot of “submissions” from volunteers who participated in the Arlington Chamber’s Volunteer Day. Watch here. Our wonderful volunteers are also developing ways to keep in touch with students. Tim Bellaire, a five-year volunteer, is teaching 12 teens how to program their TI-84 calculators through an online course he designed himself. And Bernie Piper, also a long-time volunteer, is virtually tutoring his high school student several times a week. We are also grateful to the generous grants we have received from community groups to help our residents through the crisis, including $20K from the Arlington Community Foundation, $20K from NeighborWorks, and $5K from ACT for Alexandria Community Foundation. The Spire is going to provide 113 new affordable homes in Alexandria in 2021. Construction Continues with CDC Guidelines AHC's Construction Management team is working closely with contractor, Harkins Builders, to continue construction work while adhering to CDC and OSHA recommendations for the prevention and spread of COVID-19. Both AHC and Harkins have programs in place to monitor job site compliance and workers' health. Some procedures, such as basic inspections, are being done virtually with only one person on site. Watch the construction from home. The Spire, which will provide 113 new apartments in Alexandria in 2021, is well underway. Work on the adjacent worship site for our partner, the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, will start soon. The Apex, which is creating 256 new apartments in two buildings in Arlington, is now leasing. Use the link below to apply today! Learn More about The Apex and Apply Today! Thank You to Our Amazing Volunteers! We couldn't thank our volunteers this year in person, so we created this quick video to thank everyone virtually. Enjoy. Don't miss the bloopers at the end. :) April is Volunteer Appreciation Month and AHC is immensely grateful for the hundreds of volunteers who contribute to the success of our residents and programs. This year we celebrate 400 volunteers who provided more than 6,000 hours to AHC’s education and social services programs in our affordable apartment communities. That includes 23 dedicated individuals who have volunteered for more than five years and 68 volunteers from 20+ different businesses and groups. We are immeasurably grateful. Read more about our awesome volunteers. Please visit AHC’s Instagram at @AHC_Inc or Facebook at @AHCAffordableHousing for individual volunteer portraits. To learn more about volunteering with AHC, email [email protected] or visit our volunteer page. Support AHC's Residents' Emergency Needs If you’re looking for a way to help vulnerable neighbors, please make a special gift today to the AHC Emergency Response Fund. Your gift to the Fund will allow us the most flexibility to respond to emergency needs as our low-income residents cope with job losses and reduced income, toiletry and food needs, language barriers, education challenges, and more uncertainties. Donate to AHC's Emergency Response Fund If you have already given, thank you so much for your generous support! Supporters of the Combined Federal Campaign can pledge to AHC via CFC #77198. Thank you! AHC Inc. | 703-486-0626 | 2230 N Fairfax Dr, Arlington, VA 22201 | www.ahcinc.org l DONATE NOW! ‌ ‌ ‌ AHC Inc. | 2230 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22201 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | About Constant Contact Sent by [email protected] in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!