Mark-Taylor Residential Selected for Highest Volunteer Honor in Arizona

Apartment firm receives Governor's Volunteer Service Award in large business category for its work providing housing to homeless families

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Mark-Taylor Residential

Apr 26, 2010, 10:00 ET

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and the Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism this month honored Mark-Taylor Residential (www.mark-taylor.com) with a prestigious state volunteerism award for the firm's involvement in helping homeless families.

Known as the Governor's Volunteer Service Awards, the program recognizes Arizona individuals, youths, groups, nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses that contribute their time and talents to help their communities. According to the governor's office, more than 300 nominations were received for the awards; a statewide panel of judges evaluated the nominations based on need, action, innovation, and impact.

From that batch of 300-plus entries, the judges selected just 11 winners. Mark-Taylor was recognized in the large business category at an awards luncheon in Tucson, Ariz., on April 20, 2010.

"We are so honored by this award," said Dale Phillips, president of Mark-Taylor Residential. "We just wanted to help Save the Family in the best way we knew how and give these families a fresh start."

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based multifamily company began working several years ago with Save The Family (www.savethefamily.org), Phoenix-area nonprofit that helps homeless families become financially self-sufficient. But Mark-Taylor significantly expanded that commitment in 2009, providing rent-free apartments to 12 Save the Family clients for one year, much to the nonprofit's gratitude.

"Mark-Taylor afforded us the opportunity to take those families who were excelling in the program, but who had not developed enough savings to purchase a home or who were not earning enough monthly income, to afford a fair-market-rate apartment," said Andrea J. Sok, director of community relations for Save the Family, which wants to break the cycle of poverty by providing counseling, life skills classes, and practical housing assistance to its clients.

The effort even caught the attention of NBC News, which featured the initiative almost one year ago for a "Making a Difference" segment on NBC News with Brian Williams.

"The generosity and genuine caring that Mark-Taylor and its employees have shown for Save the Family is unparalleled," Sok added. "They have developed a unique solution to the housing crisis, providing families with a second chance in life. They have given families the opportunity to save for their future while working to rebuild their families."

To learn more about the effort, please visit http://mark-taylor.com/MT_savethefamilyproject_background.htm.

Mark-Taylor Residential is an award-winning company that excels in apartment management. Mark-Taylor has developed more than 13,000 apartments in the Southwest and currently manages more than 10,000 apartments in metropolitan Phoenix, Seattle, and Portland, Ore., providing residents with beautifully appointed apartment homes and a resort-style lifestyle. For more information, visit www.mark-taylor.com.