Giving Tuesday | CHOC Community Impact

GIVING TUESDAY

CHOC COMMUNITY IMPACT

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Welcome to CHOC Impact Established in 1998, CHOC Impact provides quality resident services for CHOC’s affordable housing communities, serving families, seniors, and adults with comprehensive support needs.

The Community Impact Division uses an equity lens with a community approach to empower youth and families, encourage strong communities, and cultivate collaborative partnerships and services to improve the quality of life for very low to moderate-income families.

Fundamental to this approach is working in collaboration with our residents, property and asset management, and community partners. This collaborative work helps the Community Impact team assess situational needs and strengths, identify services and programs, implement effective strategies, and measure impact.

Community Impact has extensive experience in providing affordable housing resident services with multiple regulatory agreements, serving multifamily, senior, and supportive housing.

The Community Impact Division utilizes a developed annual framework for services, with quarterly strategies and focus. Our Impact site teams work hand-in-hand with residents and the community to implement services that empower and educate.

Impact staff use a whole family, multi-generational approach, and all services promote well-being and self-sufficiency through a strength-based model.

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When Monarch called me and said, ‘Hey, you guys are getting the apartment – it’s yours, come sign the lease,’ I literally dropped to my knees and was so happy.

That was it.

—Robert, Resident CHOC’s Monarch Apartments in Palm Springs

CHOC’s Monarch Apartments in Palm Springs | Photo Courtesy of Noé Montes

A Path to Stability: Helping Working Families Thrive

One unexpected event can throw everything off course.

The families living at CHOC’s affordable housing communities work hard to provide for their loved ones, but with high cost of living, unforeseen emergencies, and financial instability often leave them walking a fine line between stability and crisis.

At the heart of this program is a commitment to understanding the unique needs of each family.

Every community CHOC serves is different, with its own set of challenges and opportunities. To make sure services are as effective as possible, our CHOC Impact team take the time to get to know our residents.

Even though they are housed, our families are often just one paycheck, one medical emergency, or one car breakdown away from losing everything.

Whether it’s rental assistance, help with utilities, or access to emergency food closets, CHOC Impact’s Resident Services Program is there to provide support when families need it most.

Through partnerships with local agencies, banks, and credit unions, our families are offered financial literacy workshops, where they learn about budgeting, credit, and even home ownership. And the conversation isn’t just for parents — CHOC Impact takes a multi-generational approach, making sure that children, parents, and even grandparents are part of the conversation.

The impact of these services reaches beyond just financial stability.

It fosters hope.

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Our mission is to help families be selfsustainable and stay housed. By providing services across all our sites, whether it’s required or not, we believe our residents deserve a healthy and thriving environment to live in.”

—Robert, esident — Juan Pulido, Director of Resident Services

Juan Pulido

Building Community, Connection, and Care for Seniors CHOC Impact Senior Services addresses the unique needs of elder residents at all CHOC communities.

Our Community Impact Coordinators assist our senior residents with financial counseling, taxes, food insecurity, health and wellness, transportation, employment, mental wellness, emergency planning, healthcare, and more.

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Nothing is as valuable as having two feet on the ground— knowing where your front door is.

— Ray, CHOC Resident

Forrest Palms Senior Center | CHOC Housing

Forrest Palms Senior Center For example, our Resident Services Program at Forrest Palms Senior Center aims to empower low-income seniors by providing tailored support and fostering a sense of belonging.

Seniors come to Forrest Palms looking for affordable housing, but they find so much more than that—they find family. Through a calendar of social events, residents come together in the community room for game night, art classes, and special cultural celebrations that reflect the rich diversity of the community.

When it comes to navigating challenges such as Medicare/Medicaid, help is always available from our Senior Housing Services Coordinators.

Additionally, our health education and wellness workshops focus on managing chronic conditions, nutrition, and exercise.

Using our Forrest Palms community as an example, it has an annual framework with quarterly initiatives that ensure no resident is ever forgotten or left out. Each quarter brings new opportunities. From learning how to manage finances to staying active and healthy, from exploring new skills to giving back to the community, every senior is encouraged to engage in meaningful ways.

“A simple bingo game in our community room seems like just a fun activity, but for many of our seniors, it’s about mental stimulation. It’s about social interaction. It’s about physically moving and engaging with others.”

— Terri Smyth Canillo, VP Community Impact

Forrest Palms Senior Center | CHOC Housing

Growing Minds, Growing Futures: Empowering Our Youth For many kids, the after-school hours can be a time of uncertainty — a gap in the day where they may lack the resources, support, and guidance needed to grow and succeed. But at CHOC Impact, these hours are transformed into opportunities for learning, connection, and growth.

Our afterschool program was recently rebranded as the CHOC GEMS Youth Program, with GEMS standing for Growth, Education, and Mentorship for Success. GEMS serves as a safe, nurturing environment where our resident kids have the opportunity to thrive academically and interpersonally.

The first hour of the program is spent in quiet time, where kids work on their literacy skills. They take advantage of online reading programs such as Book Nook, through CHOC Impact’s partnership with United Way Capital Region.

This program helps kids who may be struggling with reading to maintain or improve literacy levels, setting them up for success in school and beyond.

The community rooms at GEMS are filled with laughter, concentration, and encouragement as students work on homework, dive into books, and take part in creative enrichment activities like tie-dying and playing basketball.

Youth Coordinators serve as tutors available to explain homework and answer questions along the way. For kids growing up in affordable housing communities, this type of mentorship is invaluable, providing them the confidence to dream bigger, the support to navigate challenges, and the encouragement to push forward, even when things get tough.

Our partnerships with community-based organizations, such as Dairy Council of California, bring healthy living education into the mix. Through fun and engaging activities, our kids learn about nutrition, making smart food choices, and how to live healthier lives.

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Growing up, I lacked those resources— there wasn’t an afterschool program like this in my community. That’s why I’m so passionate about working with the kids now.

— Amahirani Reyes, Youth Services Program Manager

—Robert, esident Amahirani Reyes — Juan Pulido, Community Impact Project Coordinator

How You Can Help At CHOC Impact, we go beyond providing housing — we create safe, thriving communities for youth, seniors, and hardworking families. But we can’t do it alone.

This Giving Tuesday, your donation can make a life-changing difference.

DONATE

Why Your Donation Matters Your generosity supports essential services like afterschool programs, wellness activities for seniors, and financial counseling for families.

• A $25 donation helps provide school supplies for youth in an afterschool program.

• A $50 donation helps fund a socialization activity for seniors.

• A $100 donation helps support dedicated staff who work directly with families to navigate the path toward housing stability.

• A $500 donation helps fund a Health and Resource Fair, providing low-income families with vital community services and resources.

This Giving Tuesday, your generosity turns challenges into opportunities and provides hope where it’s needed most.

Thank you for your support.

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“Your dollar means a lot. It helps support all of our social workers... It helps with nutritious meals served at potlucks. Your donation means a lot for our youth, our families, and our seniors.”

— Terri Smyth Canillo, VP Community Impact

Terri Smyth Canillo

DONATE TO CHOC COMMUNITY IMPACT THIS GIVING TUESDAY

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CONTACT: Terri Smyth Canillo | Vice President, Community Impact tsmyth@chochousing.org | 916.496.000