American Sunrise Communities Announces Inaugural "Sunrise Awards"

Business Wire,  June 17, 2008  

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Founders Henry and Mary Alice Cisneros and Joel Shine Honored for Their Commitment to Ending Family Homelessness

LOS ANGELES -- American Sunrise Communities today announced its first-ever gala event and awards presentation taking place on June 19th, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The event will honor the organization's founders, and other prominent individuals dedicated to addressing one of our nation's most pressing issues - family homelessness. Funds raised will support the programming needs of American Sunrise Communities to help financially struggling American families find homes.

A Public Service Inspiration Award will be presented to Paul G. Allen, Microsoft co-founder and Chairman of Vulcan Inc., and Jody Patton, President and CEO of Vulcan Inc., for bringing new levels of attention to the issue of homelessness through their award-winning film, Where God Left His Shoes; and Rick Schaden, Founder and Chairman of Quiznos and the Schaden Family Fund which provided the initial funding and concept development for America's Road Home (ARH). Vulcan, in partnership with the Schadens and America's Road Home, will use Where God Left His Shoes as the cornerstone of ARH's national fundraising effort, which aims to direct $100 million toward the issue of family homelessness. They will be the first recipients of the annual award given to honor corporate citizens and individuals who commit substantial resources to public service and who inspire other companies and individuals to replicate their efforts. Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti will host the event and actress Lupe Ontiveros will present awards to the honorees.

Henry Cisneros and Mary Alice Cisneros, and Joel Shine will receive the first "Founder's Award," which will be given each year to community leaders who make a significant difference in public service through their personal charitable efforts.

"Since my years as Mayor of San Antonio and as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, I have been focused on ensuring that hardworking families become community stakeholders all throughout the country," said Secretary Cisneros. "People need to change, and our policies need to change. Our organization is dedicated to achieving an adequate and equitable standard of living so that working families can find affordable housing in their communities."

For more information on the event, or American Sunrise Communities, go to www.americansunrise.org.

American Sunrise Communities' mission is to create a national model, leveraging public, private and non-profit resources to facilitate large-scale housing opportunities for low-income and minority families excluded from the housing market. Since its inception, the organization has created partnerships with stakeholders resulting in the potential development of over 25,000 housing opportunities for a broad range of underserved communities.

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