Pardee Homes Delivers Gifts and Good Cheer to Olive Crest Teens

LAKE ELSINORE, CA, December 22, 2011 (Press-News.org) Twenty-four at-risk teens who live at Olive Crest Children's Ranch in Perris will have a merrier holiday, and some much needed gifts to help them start the new year right, donated by Pardee Homes, who for the fifth year has put together a package of gifts for Olive Crest Safe Families as part of their holiday giving program.

"Giving back to the communities in which it builds is an enduring tradition at Pardee Homes, especially during the holidays," said Mike McGee, president and chief executive officer of Pardee Homes. "We are committed to continuing a tradition we started eight years ago of bypassing the corporate holiday party and making an extra special effort to reach out to those who need some extra good cheer."

Combining financial and volunteer resources, the ninth consecutive Pardee Homes Holiday Giving benefits the temporarily homeless, underprivileged children, needy families and teens, military families and others identified by each of Pardee's regional offices.

Monies used in lieu of traditional company luncheons represent all of Pardee's offices in California and Nevada. Each regional office chose how and where to allocate available resources with an emphasis on donating to HomeAid shelters.

The Inland Empire division chose to help the Olive Crest Inland Community Children's Ranch by giving each teen who resides at The Ranch a stocking full of gift cards and other goodies. In addition to the personalized gifts, Pardee has purchased two 32" flat screen televisions and two DVD players for the Children's Ranch.

Founded in 1973, Olive Crest has transformed the lives of 50,000 abused, neglected at-risk children and their families. Established, proven, and respected, Olive Crest has proudly served the greater Inland Empire area since 1978 and the Desert Communities since 1995. The organization strives to keep families together through child abuse prevention and parent education, and by encouraging well-rounded lifestyles through health, nutrition and recreational activities. Olive Crest Safe Families for Children is a donor-funded program. This innovative collaboration between area churches, volunteers and child care professionals is designed to support at-risk children and parents in need. See http://www.homeaid.org and http://www.olivecrest.org.

Mike Taylor, vice president of community development for Pardee Homes' Inland Empire region, said the 2011 holiday giving program has been a bright spot in the past few challenging years, allowing employees to celebrate the spirit of the season and the company's on-going commitment to supporting youth programs and medical research associations. "The giving spirit is alive and well all year at Pardee Homes, but during the holidays, even more employees take the time to support the communities in which we build," said Taylor. "In today's difficult economic times, giving up our traditional holiday celebration to help those less fortunate seemed the right thing to do."

In San Diego, the company will be making the season brighter for military families with their donation of $500 to assist with the Military Outreach annual holiday dinner; ten underprivileged children who will receive new bicycles and helmets through the BIA Cares 2011 Bike Drive, and a number of young single mothers and their babies who reside at HomeAid San Diego's Home Start Shelter.

In Pardee Homes' LA/Ventura region, recipients are Carousel Ranch in Santa Clarita, which provides therapeutic riding programs for the disabled, RAIN Project Transitional Living Center in Camarillo which provides housing and training for independent living and the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry. Pardee employees participated in the Angel Tree program, which provided individual gifts to nearly 60 residents, hosted a book drive and professional clothing drive, and presented a check for $3,000 to the RAIN Program Transitional Living Center. In Las Vegas, help was provided to The Shade Tree shelter for homeless and abused women and children in crisis and HomeAid Southern Nevada. See http://www.carouselranch.org and http://www.theshadetree.org.

Established in 1921, Pardee Homes is active in California's Inland Empire, San Diego and Los Angeles/Ventura markets, and in Las Vegas. The company emphasizes master-planned communities that include schools, parks and preserved open space, and is noted for quality construction, customer service and dedication to the educational and civic goals of the communities in which it builds. Visit http://www.Pardeehomes.com or http://www.fb.com/pardeehomes.