The Amherst Foundation Provides Over $100,000 in Grants to Florida Households in the Wake of Hurricane Ian
Initial grant program will support over 100 Florida households impacted by historic storm.
October 27, 2022 – AUSTIN, TX – The Amherst Foundation (“the Foundation”), the charitable nonprofit foundation of real estate investment, development, and operating firm The Amherst Group (“Amherst”), is proud to announce it will be providing over $100,000 in cash grants supporting 100 Florida households that suffered damage or lost jobs due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian. Households will receive $1,000 to use however they need following the storm.
“Supporting the communities that Amherst serves is always our top priority,” said Desma Deitz, executive director of the Amherst Foundation. “Especially in these circumstances, it is critical that residents of these communities that have been displaced or otherwise severely affected are offered the assistance they need. Amherst is quickly deploying repairs and renovations for its residents, and we are proud that the Foundation can provide grants as an extra layer of support and assistance as the local community recovers from this historic and unprecedented storm.”
Amherst and Main Street Renewal, the property manager of Amherst, worked closely with residents to account for their safety, begin repairs, and connect residents to local resources, such as the companies’ CARES (Client, Assessment, Resources and Empowerment Services) program, an in-house team of social workers and program specialists.
The CARES program has led much of the resident support efforts related to Hurricane Ian. The program, which was founded in 2017, empowers and educates residents to achieve greater housing stability through resource sharing, advocacy, and social-emotional support – In the wake of the storm, CARES has provided holistic, ongoing case management services to over 80 Florida residents in need.
“The CARES program enables Amherst and its companies to take a resident-first approach to providing wraparound housing services and supportive solutions to growing communities across the U.S., and the Foundation has provided a critical additional resource for affected communities,” said Genger Charles, executive director of CARES and head of external affairs and impact strategies at The Amherst Group. “The CARES program and the Foundation initiatives enable us to work together to quickly and directly address the immediate and ongoing needs of our residents and their communities as they recover from events like Hurricane Ian that can affect their housing stability.”
More than 225 employees from Amherst and Main Street Renewal are on the ground in Florida in partnership with local vendors to provide support as repairs are made to damaged properties. As of October 26, 2022, the companies have created over 4,300 work orders to address repairs on over 2,700 homes across the state. Currently, these repairs total more than $1.4 million in damage from Hurricane Ian.
Amherst has operated in Florida for 10 years through its property management arm Main Street Renewal. During this time, the firm has renovated more than 4,000 Florida homes to increase housing supply and offer single-family homes at an affordable price for Florida residents who are unable to qualify for a mortgage.
About the Amherst Foundation
The Amherst Foundation is the charitable nonprofit foundation of The Amherst Group and Main Street Renewal. It supports numerous charitable initiatives in areas where residents live and work, with a targeted focus in education initiatives, social services, cutting-edge medical research, and the health and welfare of the U.S.’s military personnel. The Amherst Foundation and its contributions strive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people and communities in need.
The Amherst Foundation also provides an employee charitable giving matching program for employees of The Amherst Group. This amplifies the charitable contributions The Amherst Group employees make to qualified secular and apolitical nonprofit organizations with non-discriminatory missions to have an impact on smaller, local community-based organizations that align with The Amherst Group employees’ values.
About the Amherst Group
The Amherst Group (“Amherst”) is a vertically integrated real estate investment, development, and operating platform that aims to reimagine some of the most fragmented and inefficient pockets of U.S. real estate, including single-family residential (SFR), mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and commercial real estate.
Fueled by proprietary technology, deep-rooted expertise and an agile, collaborative approach, Amherst is transforming a slow-to-evolve industry by creating innovative solutions that disrupt the real estate ecosystem from end to end and unlocks long-term value for the residents, communities and investors it serves.
Please visit https://www.amherstopeningdoors.com/ for more information.
About Main Street Renewal
Main Street Renewal is a privately owned and operated company focused on renovating high-quality homes and leasing for affordable prices. We are proudly based in Austin, TX, and serve residents in dozens of markets nationwide, with more coming soon.
Main Street Renewal utilizes a unique model to locate excellent properties and upgrade each home to the Main Street Renewal standard. Main Street Renewal leases our homes and manage the properties long-term and provides the best leasing experience through customer care and service.
Press contact:
Julian Graham
jgraham@signaldc.com
