HBF partners with Taylor Morrison
In May of 2020, Home Builders Foundation and dozens of local shelter providers found themselves recipients of eighty-three brand new appliances thanks to home building giant Taylor Morrison. The donated appliances, leftover from model homes on four housing development sites around the Portland Metro region, were a result of Taylor Morrison acquiring William Lyon Homes and the Polygon Northwest brand in February of 2020. HBF quickly jumped to action to lead the effort to disperse the dozens of refrigerators, gas ranges, washers, dryers, microwaves and dishwashers to local shelters in need.
Although Taylor Morrison is relatively new to the Portland housing market, HBF’s national-affiliate HomeAid America shares much history with the national home builder. In fact, Sheryl Palmer, Chairman and CEO of Taylor Morrison sits on HomeAid America’s National Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Since Sheryl’s involvement with HomeAid America, Taylor Morrison has renewed its presence in supporting HomeAid chapters in communities they actively build.
HBF was able to accomplish the takedown of appliances with some help from a few friends. Foundation Board Members, Brian Boggs with Pacific Crest Cabinets and Board VP Jason Waugh with Berkshire Hathway HomeServices Northwest stepped up to help with the response. Pacific Crest lined up two crew members and a twenty-four foot box truck to assist with removing appliances from the tract home sites in Wilsonville, Tigard, Beaverton and North Plains. Appliances were then taken to the HBA-owned Celebrate Catering Center for staging and ultimately dispersed to local shelters across town. The Celebrate space became a centralized holding facility for the dozens of appliances while events remained cancelled during the Covid-19 lockdown. Chipman Relocation Services, as well as volunteers Rob Watson with Just Compassion of East Washington County helped with the delivery to shelters across town.
As appliances rolled in, HBF Project Manager, Chris McDowell began fielding calls from shelter providers in need of specific items. At the Inn Home for Boys in Happy Valley, the washer had recently died. Similarly at Community of Hope’s Hope House in St. Johns, both washer and dryer were broken. Within hours of moving the shiny new appliances to Lake Oswego, two sets of washers and dryers were deployed to both sites, saving hundreds if not thousands of dollars in expenses for the shelters.
For HBF Staff and Board Members, it feels good to have an immediate impact on shelters, especially in hard times. The Taylor Morrison donation, worth more than $80,000 in value, will have a lasting impact for many shelters in Portland. Thank you Taylor Morrison for your service to the community!