HEART debuts two new films; many city baskets are awarded

320 guests attended HEART’s seventh annual lunch on May 6 in South San Francisco to hear how public/private partnerships can create more affordable homes in San Mateo County:

• Keynote speaker Kojo Ako-Asare, Head of Corporate Investments for Google, talked about Google’s program to buy low-income housing tax credits to invest in affordable rental home developments around the county. Not only does it support communities, he pointed out, but these investments are the equivalent of AAA bonds.
• View photos here
• Thanks to a generous grant from Cargill, HEART introduced films of two families who have benefitted from HEART loan programs:
•  Public/Private Partnership in South San Francisco highlights the story of 636 El Camino, 109 apartments for working families, developed by MidPen Housing in South San Francisco. This demonstrates the power, and need for public private partnerships to create more affordable housing.
• Cris and Koren: Buying Their First Home in San Carlos  introduces a young couple wanting to move back to San Mateo County.  He grew up in San Carlos and they were able to buy their first home there with the help of HEART and Meriwest’s first time homebuyer program.
• Thanks to a matching grant of $10,000 from Facebook, we raised $25K at the lunch to support our homebuyer program.
• Thanks to our sponsors, we raised over $115K for HEART this year!  Thank you.