Fall 2015 Newsletter

Annual Dinner on December 17

Everyone is welcome to attend our 28th Annual Dinner on Thursday, December 17th, at 6 PM at Spinelli's in East Boston! We hope that you can join us to celebrate another successful year here at NOAH. Online event sponsorships and donations are gratefully accepted.

To register, click here.

Tickets are only $50 each. Children's tickets are $5 each, and free childcare is provided. Tables of ten are available at a discounted rate of $450. Special community and client discounts are also available, if needed. Everyone loves our dinner menu at Spinelli's: roast beef, chicken, penne pasta, 'Death by Chocolate' cake, and more. In the children's room, adjacent to the main room, pizza and cookies are served. Please email Linda Miller-Foster or Phil Giffee for more information.

Gov. Charlie Baker Photobombs ED Phil Giffee

Real Estate Update

This great 'photobomb' picture of Governor Charlie Baker was taken at the future site of our $33 million mixed-income, mixed-use, 'green' Coppersmith Village development in East Boston. This project will feature 56 apartments (41 of which are affordable), 15 townhomes (including 8 affordable), and

a restaurant. NOAH is very grateful to the City of Boston DND, the State DHCD and MassWorks, Community Housing Capital and NeighborWorks Capital for their financial support. We are grateful, too, to the Governor and to the MassWorks staff for a much-needed infrastructure investment! MassWorks funding is a great tool to help mixed-income transportation-oriented developments clean up challenging sites and build much needed affordable, workforce and market-rate housing. And, we love the Governor's spunky sense of humor!

Ribbon Cutting at Sitksowski School

A Ribbon Cutting was held at the $20.5 million 66-unit Sitkowski School senior housing apartment complex in downtown Webster. This historic school was rehabbed to create LEED Silver certifiable, all-affordable housing for seniors aged 55+. The Webster Senior Center relocated to the school's 9,300 square foot old gym, which was remodeled to accommodate many new activities for the town and local seniors . All apartment units are fully adaptable, and feature large windows, wood floors, ceiling fans, and step-in showers.This project could have only been completed with the great support of funders and partners such as The Town of Webster, DHCD, MassHousing, MHIC, MAPFRE/Commerce, Selective Insurance, Citizens Bank, NeighborWorks America, CEDAC, Dellbrook Construction, DiMella Shaffer Architects and Winn Property Management. If you have any questions about NOAH's current or pending real estate developments, please contact Director of Real Estate Development Toby Kramer at tkramer@noahcdc.org.

Community Building
& Environment

This fall, the Second Annual East Boston Día del Maíz or Corn Festival was a big success! The Día del Maíz is celebrated in many countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, El Salvador, Perú, Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, etc. The event is centered around the harvest of the corn crop as part of the deep-rooted heritage of these countries, from celebrating the nutritional sustenance it provides to the religious significance that it upholds in oral and cultural traditions. At NOAH's festival, entertainment was provided, and corn-related foods served, including 300+ 'elotes locos' ('crazy' corn on the cob)! There were also free health-related

Mayan Dancers with Corn

item giveaways and a NOAH Youth health survey demonstration. The Festival was one of several of NOAH's East Boston Place-Making activities this year.

In September, NOAH completed a Climate Resiliency Implementation Workplan for East Boston. This was funded by the Kresge Foundation. We held a series of diverse participatory community planning meetings leading towards the development of a final resident-driven resiliency plan. Project partners included the Urban Land Institute Boston/NE, climate change expert Dr. Paul Kirshen, NOAH green consultant Kim Vermeer, the Community Design Resource Center of Boston, and City and State agencies, such as the MBTA, Massport, Boston/Water Sewer, DOT as well as the City's Energy and Environment Department. Climate change/sea-level-rise resiliency is an issue we will continue to focus on in the years ahead. The Kresge Foundation award has been an amazing investment in community engagement and inter-agency collaboration. Contact Director Chris Marchi at 617-418-8241 for more information about CBE.

Homebuyer Services News

Former Staffer Claudia Gongora Visits

The Homebuyer Services Department continues to offer high-impact bilingual low-cost First-Time Homebuyer and no-cost Foreclosure Prevention and Mitigation services. The Department also provides free Financial Capability courses, coaching and counseling in both Spanish and English. Beginning in February, the no-cost VITA tax preparation program will be offered again on site.

Former HBS team member Claudia Gongora just visited us. Claudia left NOAH to move home to Sao Paola, Brazil, and now works for CitiBank in their Core Compliance Department. We can't wait to see her again on her next trip! While visiting, she noted how much she had learned at NOAH, and said that many of her happiest memories were of the clients whose lives she had helped, especially those whose homes she was able to help save.

All our HBS Department staff members continue to see first-hand what a great impact they have on their clients' lives. Here is just one of many recent success stories: John and Helena came to NOAH when they fell behind on their mortgage due to John's job loss. Both immigrants from South America, they came to the States in hopes of creating a better life for their young son. They saved up, and bought a home to raise him in and enrolled him in school. Unfortunately, after a few years of paying on time, John was unexpectedly laid off from his job, and the family was no longer able to afford their high monthly mortgage payments. Faced with the prospect of a foreclosure, they came to a special event that NOAH held in conjunction with their mortgage servicing company. NOAH's dedicated staffers were able to prepare their loan modification application and submit it to the mortgage servicer on the spot. The servicer's underwriting team immediately made the decision to offer a loan modification to the family, reducing the monthly payment by over $1,050 dollars (a 33% total reduction). This savings allowed the family to avoid a foreclosure and stay in the only home their son has even known. Now that their modification has been made permanent, they are thrilled to be celebrating another holiday season in the home that they love. They said that they never would have been able to save their home if it were not for the assistance of NOAH. If you are interested in learning more about our Homebuyer Services activities, please contact Director Diana Franco at 617-418-8266.

Tell Your Friends About CITCs:

Donors Get Half+ Back!

NOAH is still looking for 2015 donors who'd like to more-than-double the impact of their donation dollars! We are one of the organizations who have received Community Investment Tax Credits (CITCs) for 2015. It's easy to do! Any individual or corporation can make a donation of over $1,000 or more for a 50% state tax credit or refund. Depending on your tax bracket, your $325 final net donation could work like a $1,000 donation to help NOAH offer free or very low cost programming to seniors, disabled individuals, families, and children in need. For more information, please check out our website or contact your tax professional for information. Click here to make a donation right now.

Thank You to Our Wonderful Funders!

All of us at NOAH want to say THANK YOU to all our recent funders, including: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Elizabeth Barnett, Boston Private Bank, the City of Boston, Lynn & David Blake, John Connell, Deloitte, Keith Dimalante, Richard High & Anne Perkins, HUD, LISC, NEF (National Equity Fund), NeighborWorks America, Santander Bank, State Street Foundation, TD Bank Foundation, United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley, Kim Vermeer, Waste Management, Webster Bank and Wells Fargo Housing Foundation. Without our wonderful supporters, we could not maintain our client services or programs at their current high levels. With them, we continue to create and maintain more sustainable neighborhoods, community services and affordable housing than ever before. We are so very grateful to all of them!

Please 'Like' Us on Facebook

NOAH's Facebook page has 3,000 Likes! If YOU haven't done so already, we would really appreciate it if you would go to our Facebook page through the link below, and click the "Like" button - thanks!

Upcoming Events

28th Annual Dinner

Don't miss our Annual Dinner on Thursday, December 17 at 6 PM at Spinelli's in East Boston! Tickets are $50 each. Children's tickets are $5 each, and daycare is provided. Tables of ten are available at a discounted rate of $450. To register, please click here.

First-Time Homebuyer Classes

The next available available English First-Time Homebuyer course will meet at NOAH on Saturday, January 9 & Saturday, January 16 from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The next Spanish First-Time Homebuyer course will meet on Saturday, February 20 & Saturday, February 27, also from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM at NOAH. To receive a City of Boston certificate, attendees must be present at all class sessions. Students learn from industry guest speakers, including home inspectors, as well as from NOAH staff, about how best to select and purchase a home and about appropriate loan products. The cost for the group course is $50 per individual or $65 per couple (or any two individuals registering together). Also, we are offering individual online course sessions in both English and Spanish. For more information, please call Dept. Director Diana Franco at 617-418-8266 or dfranco@noahcdc.org.

Loan Modification/Foreclosure Prevention Clinics

Our next free bilingual Loan Modification/Foreclosure Prevention clinics will occur on the following Monday evenings: December 7, 14, 21 and January 4, 11 and 25 from 5:30 to 8 PM at NOAH. These workshops are the initial counseling and education sessions for NOAH's foreclosure prevention and mitigation counseling. The sessions are held in Spanish and in English. All of NOAH's foreclosure prevention education and counseling sessions are free of charge. Workshops are held weekly, except for holiday weeks. For additional information, please reach Carrie Tennant, Esq. at 617-418-8264 or ctennant@noahcdc.org.

Financial Capability Classes

The next free bilingual Financial Capability course will be held at NOAH on Saturday, January 23, from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM and on Monday, January 25, from 6:30 to 9:30 PM.To register, please contact Carrie Tennant, Esq. at 617-418-8264 or ctennant@noahcdc.org.

Make a BIG impact with a SMALL Donation!

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NOAH today. To donate online CLICK HERE.

Thank you for your interest in NOAH!

You can find out further information about NOAH on our web site at www.noahcdc.org.