The United Athletes Foundation (UAF), Builders of Hope and Consumer Education Services, Inc. (CESI) today announced an initiative, Bring It Home, that will revitalize blighted communities by developing quality, safe, affordable housing and teach financial literacy to the new homebuyers and renters moving into the renovated houses. The organizations will pilot this innovative program in Baltimore and Atlanta.

“During these tough economic times, both affordable housing and neighborhood blight have emerged as critical issues for every city across our nation,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “I welcome initiatives which restore our neighborhoods and give residents the pride of home ownership. I am delighted that the United Athletes Foundation, Builders of Hope and Consumer Education Services have chosen Atlanta as a pilot city for Bring It Home.”

NFL stars Ray Lewis and Reggie Howard will serve as Bring It Home’s local ambassadors in Baltimore and Atlanta, respectively. Lewis, legendary linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens and MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, serves as the Vice Chairman of the non-profit UAF board. Howard, who played seven seasons in the NFL and intercepted Tom Brady in Super Bowl XXXVIII, founded UAF and serves as its President and Executive Director.

“The Bring It Home initiative is the perfect marriage of how athletes can leverage their celebrity status to impact positive change in their communities through education and social development,” Howard said. “We believe the awareness that UAF ambassadors can bring to the growing problem of abandoned, vacant housing in our cities will help Builders of Hope and CESI turn blighted neighborhoods into vibrant communities.”

As ambassadors for Bring It Home, UAF athletes will be empowered to work with CESI and Builders of Hope to raise awareness of the need for affordable housing and help rebuild the neighborhoods where their fans reside.

The initiative is designed to help targeted communities renovate housing and repopulate neighborhoods, which in turns helps stabilize home prices, increase safety, and spur additional investment in the surrounding community. Builders of Hope will dedicate $30 million of private investment to the program and will rehabilitate approximately 500 homes in each market.

Builders of Hope Upcycles Homes To Create Affordable Housing

Builders of Hope, a Raleigh-based non-profit, has gained national recognition for its innovative approach to affordable housing and urban renewal through whole-house recycling of vacant or foreclosed properties.

The organization’s Upcycle program transforms real estate owned, or REO, properties into energy efficient, affordable rentals for working-class Americans. Through the Bring It Home initiative, the organizations will make available thousands of energy efficient, affordable rentals in each market. Builders of Hope will handle property assessment, acquisition, rehabilitation, leasing and sales, and rental management.

“Bring It Home is specifically designed to address the many interconnected housing issues that the nation is struggling with – the lack of affordable rentals, the surplus of foreclosed houses, the neighborhoods suffering from blight and the inefficient state of our existing housing stock,” explained Nancy Welsh, founder and CEO of Builders of Hope. “We’re thrilled to partner with UAF and CESI get Americans back into housing.”

CESI’s Pathways to Home Ownership

Homeownership is about more than just having a nice house to live in; it’s about having the financial skills to sustain it. CESI’s Pathways to Home Ownership program will teach the individuals and families moving into the renovated housing the money management skills needed to live on a budget that will allow for rent/mortgage payments in addition to living expenses and savings.

CESI will assist with the screening of participants in the Bring It Home program. Participants will be then be assigned to one of three programs: a home ownership program lasting three-to-four months, a rent-to-own program lasting six-nine months, or a Pathways program lasting twelve to eighteen months. Every program will include in-person and telephone counseling sessions designed to teach budgeting, money management and credit skills that will help individuals and families meet their financial responsibilities.

“We are proud to join with Builders of Hope and UAF to provide this holistic approach to rebuilding neighborhoods through home ownership and financial literacy,” says Dr. Diane Chen, CEO of CESI. “Too often people move into a new house without the financial skills needed to maintain it. This initiative features the best organizations joining in a partnership to create safe, stable communities.”

About United Athletes Foundation

The United Athletes Foundation is a 501c3 public non-profit organization created in 2008 by a group of professional athletes who understood their unique role in improving the lives of both the athlete fraternity and society in its entirety. To date, there are more than 100 professional athletes associated with the UA Foundation including members of the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA and professional boxing. Founded by former NFL player Reggie Howard, the UAF Board of Directors/advisors includes Ray Lewis, Hank Aaron, Julius Erving and Ambassador Andrew Young. For more information, please visit the Foundation’s website at http://www.unitedathletesfoundation.org.

About CESI

Consumer Education Services Inc. is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization for consumers who want financial freedom. CESI offers a complete life cycle of services: credit counseling, debt management, housing counseling, financial education and bankruptcy counseling. Since its inception in 1998, CESI has helped hundreds of thousands of consumers nationwide improve their money management skills and experience debt free living. CESI’s Homeownership Center supports the delivery of a wide variety of housing counseling services to potential homebuyers and current homeowners. Counselors provide guidance, advice, and advocacy to help families and individuals meet their financial responsibilities and improve their housing conditions and choices. The division helps families facing foreclosure and financial crisis as well as clients looking to purchase their first home. For more information, please visit www.cesidebtsolutions.org.

About Builders of Hope

Builders of Hope is a non-profit organization, 501(c)3 based in Raleigh, N.C. that provides safe, affordable housing to working families through a comprehensive model that incorporates economic benefits, environmental stewardship and social solutions. The organization helps families who otherwise couldn’t afford it, purchase a home of their own or rent quality housing. Builders of Hope saves homes slated for demolition and recycles them using its “Extreme Green Rehabilitation” model for residential construction. The patent-pending process creates beautiful, healthier homes that are energy efficient and less costly to maintain. In Dallas, Builders of Hope operates under the name EcoLogical Community Builders.

NFL Legends Ray Lewis and Jim Brown are hosting multiple events in New York City on April 27 – 28 to raise funds and awareness for the United Athlete’s Foundation (UAF), a non-profit organization whose mission it is to leverage the celebrity status of professional athletes to impact positive change in their communities. Fans will have an opportunity to attend the Awards Gala Celebration, as well as register online to win autographed memorabilia.

During the event, sponsors of the Charity Weekend – Consumer Education Services Inc. (CESI) and Builders of Hope – will announce a partnership with UAF that will change the lives of many low income families by helping them find high-quality, safe affordable housing and manage their finances in major markets such as Atlanta and Baltimore.

Reggie Howard, who played seven seasons in the NFL and intercepted Tom Brady in Super Bowl 38, founded UAF and serves as its President & Executive Director. “As a veteran of the NFL, I fully understand and appreciate the ability of professional athletes to positively influence and impact society,” said Howard. “This weekend celebrates all the hard work that these athletes do throughout the year to give back in their communities.”

Awards Gala Ceremony, Friday, April 27, from 2 – 4 p.m.: Celebrating the accomplishments of a group of individuals who have taken it upon themselves to make a difference in the lives of others, this gala event held at the NYSE will honor the following individuals as Athletes of the Year:

- Pat O’Conner, CEO MiLB – Lifetime Achievement Award
- Cathy Harbin, Executive Director, Golf 20/20 – Athlete of Year
- Melvin Ingram, Univ. of South Carolina, Top NFL Draft Pick – College Athlete of Year

Past award recipients include Alonzo Mourning, Hank Aaron, Jerry Rice and Dominique Wilkins.

Community Event – Youth Financial Literacy Symposium, Saturday, April 28, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Held at the Jackie Robinson Community Center (89 Bradhurst Ave., between 146 & 147 Sts.), students from area high schools will hear from Lewis and Brown about managing money.

“This charity weekend is an opportunity for me to begin passing the torch to the next generation of professional athletes, such as Reggie Howard and Ray Lewis from UAF, who are committed to giving back to their communities,” said Jim Brown, who founded the Ameri-I-Can Foundation in 1988. “It’s an honor to work with these leaders from UAF, because they are making a significant positive impact for inner-city families. I look forward to our organizations continuing to work together to make a positive difference together for years to come.”

UAF, CESI & Builders of Hope Rebuilding Communities

CESI and Builders of Hope are partnering with UAF to help achieve the UAF mission of “Empowering Athletes to impact communities through education and social development.”  The first initiative of this new partnership will be announced at the UAF Charity Weekend.

CESI, Builders of Hope and UAF will work together to renovate and rebuild neighborhoods by creating affordable housing and financial literacy though the Builders of Hope “Upcycle” neighborhood revitalization program and CESI’s Pathways to Homeownership program.

“We are proud to join with Builders of Hope and UAF to make a difference in communities across the United States,” says Dr. Diane Chen, CEO of CESI. “This initiative features the best organizations providing a holistic approach to financial literacy and affordable housing.”

Builders of Hope is an established and innovative leader in creating and rebuilding neighborhoods by providing high-quality, safe and sustainable workforce housing through the reuse of vacant or abandoned housing inventory. Individuals and families moving into the rehabilitated housing will learn techniques and skills from CESI that are necessary to live on a budget that will allow for rent/mortgage payments as well as cost of living expenses and savings.

“We believe the awareness that UAF Athletes can bring to the problem of blighted and vacant housing in our cities will help us provide safe, sustainable and truly affordable housing while rebuilding neighborhoods and transforming lives,” said Nancy Welsh, CEO of Builders of Hope.

Get Gala Tickets, Register to Win Autographed Memorabilia

For more information regarding the limited tickets available to the public for the Awards Gala Celebration, call UAF at 404-981-4470 or visit online at www.UnitedAthletesFoundation.org. To register to win autographed memorabilia or to learn more about the CESI, Builders of Hope and UAF partnership, please visit www.UAFsolutions.com beginning April 25.

“We encourage fans to visit our event website and partnership site to learn more about how these organizations are joining forces to impact change, as well as register to win autographed memorabilia,” said Howard. “This is an easy way for fans to connect with these legends and make a difference in the lives of many families.”

PURCHASE TICKETS: http://unitedathletes-eivtefrnd.eventbrite.com

Darla’s health was in decline and she didn’t know why. Finally, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease and when she could no longer get off the couch or take care of herself, she had to face reality. She had to leave her job, sell her Atlanta house at a loss and at 39 years old, move in with her Mom in Raleigh. She was now financially dependent on her parents.

After 2 ½ years, Darla’s health is improving but she could not find an affordable home. When an Oakwood friend mentioned Builders of Hope, Darla immediately went to the website. She was excited to see both the affordability of the homes, combined with green building practices. This is especially important to Darla because of her health – good indoor air quality and the use of non-toxic materials matter in helping her stay healthy.

Darla drove by the neighborhood and was ready to make an offer. Builders of Hope told her about 0% interest loans that she could qualify for and bought one of the last homes available at that time in State Street Village in downtown Raleigh in 2011. She loves her community and her neighbors. Nearly every night when the weather is nice, she’s outside with the folks in her cul-de-sac playing with kids and talking with her new friends. And she knows the friendliness of her community lifts her spirit, which in turn helps her health.