14th Annual Manna 5K Fun Run

This year’s Manna 5K Fun Run took place in Anacostia Park on Saturday, April 21st. Over 150 runners and walkers participated in this year’s event with Kwame Brown, former DC City Council Chairman, serving as the honorary chair of the event. 

A new element for this year’s event was the Manna 5K Team Challenge for the participants. Eight teams competed in the areas of Best Team Time and Most Team competitors. The Bank of America
Team won the Best Team Time with a cumulative time of 2:41.004 and the BJ’s Wholesale Club Team won the Most Competitors category with 11 team members.

Congratulations to the top three male runners: John Tracey, Michael McVictor, and Ibrahim Kamara; and the top three female runners: Martha Katz, Lisa Gold, and Priya Jayachandran. They received prizes from local organizations. The top runner in each age category also received prizes. Thank you to all the in kind donors including: BJ’s Wholesale Club, Costco, St. Mark’s yoga Center, Unity Woods Yoga Center, Safeway, Giant, and Panera Bread, Capital City Golf School.

The Manna 5K Fun Run serves to raise funds for healthy, vibrant and inclusive communities as well as celebrate springtime in our fair city.  All proceeds benefit Manna’s work of revitalizing neighborhoods and preserving diversity through affordable housing.

View photos of the 14^th Annual Manna 5K Fun Run on Manna’s Facebook!

National NeighborWorks Week 2012

On June 2nd, Manna partnered with NeighborWorks America for a neighborhood cleanup day in the Ivy City community, a long neglected DC neighborhood. This was part of the National NeighborWorks Week activities where NeighborWorks America partners with

Volunteers at National NeighborWorks Week

with their member organizations to promote efforts of beautifying the local communities. Representatives from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the National Credit Union Administration volunteered their time to pick up trash on the streets, clean up yards and parks, and dig a pipe trench for one of the future locations of the Bexhill Condominium, a new Manna 20-unit condominium project in Ivy City.

A special thanks to the Manna and NeighborWorks America staff who coordinated this event and the volunteers who worked hard to make this day successful. 

Click here to view more photos of National NeighborWorks Week 2012 on Manna's Facebook page!

East of the River Homebuyer Education Fair

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development and Manna Inc hosted the 1^st Annual East of the River Homebuyer Education Fair on Saturday, May 19^th. The event brought homebuyer education and resources to residents in Washington DC especially in Wards 7 and 8. Over 100 people attended the East of the River Homebuyer Education Fair at Thurgood Marshall Academy to interact with developers, lenders, and homebuyer counseling service organizations.
 

Exhibitors at the East of the River Homebuyer Education Fair

A special thanks to all of the exhibitors! In case you missed the Homebuyer Education Fair, you can get more information on the exhibitors by clicking on links below:

BB&T Mortgage

Citi Mortgage

DC Habitat for Humanity

Greater Washington Urban League

Housing Counseling Services

Manna

Manna Mortgage

Marshall Heights Community Development Organization

McWilliams Ballard

Operation Hope

PNC Mortgage

Real Estate Mortgage Network

University Legal Services

Wells Fargo

William C. Smith & Co

Manna's 2012 Volunteers- Thank You!

Volunteers from LaSalle Hotel Properties

Thank you to all of our volunteer groups in 2012!! The following groups/organizations have helped at Manna construction sites this year: American Institute of Architects, American University Service Group, BB&T, Dartmouth University Service Group, LaSalle Hotel Properties, and Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

Click here to view photos of some of our 2012 volunteer groups on Manna’s Facebook page!

Hello's and Good-Bye's

Life is full of Hello’s and Good-bye’s.  In this case, I get to say “hello” to you, the friends and supporters of Manna, as the new Director of Corporate Development and Communications.  At the same time, we say Good-bye to Jennifer McAllister who has served in this position for the past seven years. As Manna's Director of Development & Communications, I look forward to being a part of the Manna family and getting to know each of you, our supporters and donors.  Without you, there wouldn’t be the bricks and mortar, the carpenters and craftsman, the advisers and counselors to guide people in the homebuying process to make the work of Manna happen.  You make it possible for Manna to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of low to moderate-income families to fulfill the American dream of being homeowners.   As our nation celebrates Independence Day, I join Reverend Jim, and all of us here at Manna, to thank you for making this measure of financial independence and security available to those who would otherwise not have it.  Please know that I am here at any time to answer your questions and to help to be a partner with Manna in this work.  My office number is 202-832-1845 x223 and my email is bwinston@mannadc.org.  I look forward to meeting you, so please do not hesitate at any time to reach out to me.

Happy Independence Day!

 

Bill Winston

Director of Corporate Development & Communications 


Click here for more information on the Capstone Fund, which pays 3% interest on your investments.

You can figure Manna in your Will and Estate Planning,  click here for more information on the Legacy Program.

NeighborWorks America and Manna Celebrate 25 Years of Homebuyers Clubs

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of Manna’s Homebuyers Club (HBC) program.  The HBC is a peer support group and homeownership counseling program created in 1986 to prepare low to moderate income homebuyers for homeownership. Manna was the first organization in the country to create such a program. NeighborWorks America, of which Manna is a chartered member, replicated this homebuyers club program in hundreds of its member organizations nationally.
 

From left to right: Donna Morris, Tia Norde, 
the Honorable Christiane Gigi Hyland, Rev. Jim Dickerson, 
Deborah Boatwright, Willamena Samuels,
 and Valerie Robinson.
Photo Credit: Ron White Photography

On Thursday, February 23^rd, 2012 NeighborWorks America and Manna celebrated the 25^th anniversary of homebuyers clubs at the National Press Club. Speakers included Eileen Fitzgerald, CEO of NeighborWorks America, the Honorable Christiane Gigi Hyland, National Credit Union Administration Board Member, and Deborah Boatwright, Regional Director of NeighborWorks America Northeast Region, who moderated the event. Rev. Jim Dickerson, Founder of Manna, also spoke about how Manna’s HBC has helped hundreds of low to moderate income individuals become homeowners in the District. He introduced three Manna HBC graduates: Donna Morris, Tia Norde, and Valerie Robinson. The women shared their Homebuyers Club experiences and how being a homeowner has positively affected their lives.

Left to right: Willamena Samuels,
Rev. Jim Dickerson of Manna,
and DC Councilmember Kwame Brown

The Washington DC City Council also joined in the HBC 25^th Anniversary celebrations. On Thursday evening, Councilmember Kwame Brown presented Rev. Jim Dickerson with a proclamation recognizing the impact of Manna’s HBC on homeownership in Washington DC. Councilmembers Kwame Brown and Michael A. Brown both gave remarks about the need affordable housing in the city and for programs such as Manna’s HBC.

Click here for complete profiles on Donna Morris, Tia Norde, Valerie Robinson, and several other HBC graduates.

Want to give your input about why you think homebuyers clubs are important?  Follow Manna on Twitter and use the hashtag #HBC25! Click here to follow Manna on Twitter.

Visit Manna’s Facebook page to view photos and video of the HBC 25th Anniversary celebrations.

Manna's OWN NOW Campaign

OWN NOW is the new Manna campaign to promote affordable homeownership opportunities and resources across Washington DC. The goal of the OWN NOW campaign is to inform DC residents that now is the best time to buy a home in 30 years; opportunities exist for people making as low as $13 an hour, interest rates are extremely low, and they can own for cheaper than rent!

OWN NOW has developed into a major outreach campaign with the help of Manna staff, homeowners and volunteers who are passing out flyers to individuals at metro stops and other public spaces to get the word out. In addition, the OWN NOW campaign staff have made presentations about affordable homeownership to the staff of various organizations and groups across the DC (schools, nonprofits, police, real estate agents, etc.) Since its inception, Manna's OWN NOW campaign has outreached to over 700 individuals and organizations. 

A key message of the campaign is that homeownership is attainable and manageable for prepared low and moderate income people. In the past 30 years, Manna has only a 2% foreclosure rate amongst its buyers, with no foreclosures for those who purchased in the last eight years during height of the housing crisis. This is a result of homebuyers education, low down payments, and fixed rate loans.

You can get involved too! Contact Sarah Scruggs, Head Organizer, at sscruggs@mannadc.org if you are interested in passing out flyers, or scheduling a presentation for your organization.