This year, several longtime donors have demonstrated their commitment to our mission by doubling their donation to Housing Assistance. They have done so because they understand how important safe, stable housing is to strong families, strong neighborhoods, and strong communities.
Kim and Ralph Geary (East Sandwich)
The Gearys first introduction to Housing Assistance was back in the 1990s when they both served as instructors for our First-Time Homebuyers workshop.
Kim, who currently works as a mortgage sales manager for Cape Cod Five, and Ralph, a retired mortgage loan officer, lent their expertise as banking professionals to the classes.
They have since deepened their involvement with Ralph volunteering his time and handyman skills to our annual Big Fix-A-Thon which provides small home repairs to veterans, seniors, and disabled homeowners in one town on Cape Cod each fall.
Together, they have supported our work as longtime donors. This year, they doubled their 2019 donation because “we believe in what Housing Assistance does,” Ralph said.
“And we know how many people it has helped,” Kim added.
Jeanne Cole (North Eastham)
In 1971, Jeanne’s father, Lester Langhans Jr., founded Cape Associates, a small custom building and remodeling company that has since grown to over 120 year-round employees.
It was Jeanne’s parents that “instilled in me the importance of giving back,” she said.
That trait is one Jeanne’s husband, the late Michael Cole, embraced when the couple eventually assumed ownership of Cape Associates in 1985. “One of the things [Michael] loved doing was giving,” Jeanne said.
Jeanne and Michael passed on that lesson to their children, Matt, Lindsay and Casey, who have been leading Cape Associates since 2013. Shortly after the sale of the company to the children, Michael passed away. To honor his legacy and passion for charity, they started the Michael H. Cole Charitable Giving Foundation.
It should come as no surprise that this year Jeanne doubled her commitment to an organization like Housing Assistance which has a direct impact on a community she has called home for so long. “I just want the Cape to be a place where, especially young families can come and build a life,” she said. “I thought this was a great place to raise kids, but if you can’t afford housing, you’re not going to stay here.”
Cape Save received our Business Partner of the Year Award at our 2017 Annual Meeting.
Cape Save (South Yarmouth)
For more than four decades, Cape Save has partnered with Housing Assistance, assisting our Energy Department with insulating and weatherizing low-income households.
Over the past decade, the company has taken steps to strengthen that relationship, fielding a team of skilled professionals for our annual Big Fix-A-Thon and serving as a sponsor for our Telethon for Hope. This year Cape Save doubled its charitable giving as an annual corporate sponsor.
“Over the past 40 years, we know firsthand what the results are when you support an entity like Housing Assistance and see the great things it does every day,” said Cape Save Office/Human Resources Manager Ben Caswell.
Housing Assistance’s services, Caswell said, will be “needed even more as we get out of this unusual time for everyone. It is evident to us because the population Housing Assistance serves is, unfortunately, underserved so the things they do are even more important now.”
