community1080 Montreal Avenue, Here We ComeWe are Moving! Affordable Housing

is only the Beginning

CommonBond’s Advantage Services is changing lives at Westminster Place Apartments. Just ask Naby Camara who is all smiles these days because of the life-changing support he received the past year.

Building stable homes, strong futures, and vibrant communities since 1971

SUMMER 2014

Sitting in the Advantage Services o�ce, 33-year-old Naby Camara can’t seem to stop smiling. He just �nished work, still in the uniform he received a year ago, pocketing the keys to the car he was �nally able to buy a few months ago. When asked how things are going, he says without hesitation, “Everything is going great!”

Naby is a resident of Westminster Place Apartments, a 99-unit family housing community in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Westminster Place is one of twelve CommonBond sites to o�er integrated employment, �nancial, and income support services for its residents. Westminster residents also have access to youth programming and an on-site social worker.

When asked about what initially brought him to the Advantage Services o�ce, Naby describes a very di�erent time in his life. He was without a job, struggling with his rent and utility bills, and looking for ways to build up his momentum again after the end of his previous job.

With the support of sta� at Westminster, Naby focused on securing employment and getting connected with key income supports to help make ends meet. He set up a payment plans for his utilities, got access to winter clothes, prepared for his citizenship test, and applied for energy assistance and rent assistance so he could stay in his home.

With some of the �nancial pressure relieved, Naby worked with his CommonBond employment and �nancial coach to �nd a place for himself in the workforce. He and his coach created an updated resume and cover letter, and worked on job search techniques. In the meantime, he started taking Adult Basic Education classes with a local provider to improve his English and professional skills.

In March of 2013, Naby came into the Advantage Services o�ce with good news - he had been o�ered a part-time position with a well-known facility management company. His coach assisted him with his new hire paperwork, and afterward, followed up at regular intervals to support him in retaining and thriving in his new position. �en, with eight months of experience under his belt, Naby moved up to a full-time, bene�ts-earning Environmental Service Specialist position, continuing to work at his part-time job in the evenings. Naby now has a full schedule during the week, and has received positive feedback from both of his employers.

Naby speaks optimistically and enthusiastically about his short- and long-term goals, which include �nancial stability, taking his son to visit his grandmother in Naby’s home country of Guinea, and eventually buying a house of his own. Now that he has a steady, livable income and has started taking positive action with his �nances, he is closer to seeing those goals become a reality. According to Naby, “CommonBond has helped me a lot. I wish everybody would know what I’m feeling.”

What is AmazonSmile?AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support CommonBond every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you'll �nd the exact same low prices as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to CommonBond.

How do I select CommonBond to support when shopping on AmazonSmile?On your �rst visit to AmazonSmile, you need to select CommonBond Communities to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. �en, every eligible purchase you make on AmazonSmile will result in a donation. Special holiday promotions increase the amount of the donation.

How do I shop at AmazonSmile?To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. You use the same account on Amazon.com and AmazonSmile.

Smile for CommonBondDonate while you shop with Amazon

Sometimes You Just Need a Hug

Please note our new addressas of July 19th:

1080 Montreal AvenueSt. Paul, MN 55116

CommonBond Communities is excited to announce that we will be moving into our new of�ce building on July 19th. This new space is fully accessible, allows for future growth, provides suitable space for meetings, and has beautiful outdoor green space. The location is about 5 minutes south of our current location and we look forward to many visitors after the move is complete.

Our phone numbers will not change

1080 Montreal

A Home Run for VeteransCommonBond has been selected as one of the community projects in Major League Baseball and the Minnesota Twins' 2014 All-Star Legacy program. As an extension of Major League Baseball's Welcome Back Veterans initiative, MLB and the Twins will join CommonBond's effort to build an Advantage Center as part of CommonBond’s housing for homeless veterans at historic Fort Snelling. Residents will have access to on-site supportive services at no cost through the Advantage Center. To learn more about how you can support this vital project, visit commonbond.org.

Youth from two CommonBond housing communities were invited to Target Field where they played frisbee, kickball, and baseball with Minnesota Twins players. For many of the kids, a highlight of the day was meeting T.C. Bear, the Twins’ mascot, and getting a big bear hug. �e May 17th event was part of the Twins’ annual Hope Week. Twenty-�ve kids from Skyline Tower in St. Paul and Crown Ridge Apartments in Minnetonka participated in the event. In addition to running around on the �eld, participants enjoyed lunch in the Champions Club and getting autographs and pictures with their favorite Twins players.

“CommonBond has helped me a lot. I wish everybody would know what I’m feeling.”

CommonBond’s 2014 GrandeGala was all about Uncommon Heroes - the residents, funders, partners and volunteers who help us to create vibrant communities every day. Nearly 800 guests enjoyed a silent and live auction, dinner, and heartfelt messages of support and appreciation for CommonBond’s mission and the people we serve. �e guests also acknowledged CommonBond CEO, Paul Fate, who will be retiring later this year. At the end of the evening, over $640,000 had been raised to support families, seniors, youth, and individuals with disabilites through Advantage Services programming. CommonBond extends a big “thank you!” to all of the event sponsors and participants. Your generosity provides life-enhancing services to residents and is greatly appreciated. See you at next year’s event - April 10, 2015!

Kathy Tolo joined CommonBond as Major Gifts O�cer. In her role she oversees a comprehensive program to develop and imple-ment strategies for securing �nancial support through individual, corporate, and special-event contributions for CommonBond Communities. She manages stewardship, donor recognition and gift acknowledgement processes and brings years of experience to CommonBond’s Resource Development department. Kathy can be reached at 651-265-4748 or kathy.tolo@commonbond.org.

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Paul Fate has served as CommonBond Communi-ties’ President and CEO for the past seven years. During this time, CommonBond experienced profound growth, increased �nancial security, and expansion of our reputation both locally and nationally. We will celebrate an important milestone this fall when we say goodbye to Paul, but we say goodbye con�dent that he has set the stage for new leadership to bring the organization toward its 2020 vision.

In recognition of Paul‘s contributions to CommonBond, the Paul Fate Endowment for Youth has been established. �is endowed fund will provide long term support for CommonBond’s programs that support the youth who live in our housing communities. We o�er you an opportunity to make a gift in honor of Paul’s unwavering dedication to our mission. Your gift will help ensure that Paul’s commitment to our young residents continues long after he leaves. We are happy to announce that we have received $25,000 from Debra and Richard Wicka to establish this fund.

Please consider honoring Paul and our young residents in this meaningful way and be a part of CommonBond’s mission of providing strong futures. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ann Ru�, VP of Resource Development at 651-290-6234. You can also donate online at commonbond.org by clicking on the endowment button.

CommonBond Communities recently awarded scholarships to four high school students involved in Skyline Tower’s Advantage Services teen programming. Keria Tahir and Mohamed Mohamud were selected as Leadership Award winners and each received $1,000 for post-secondary expenses. Yahya Abdullah and Nadira Farah, Excellence Award winners, were awarded $500 each. �e winners were selected based on their community service, a scholarship essay, as well as their commitment to pursuing post-secondary education. �e CommonBond Communities scholarship is possible thanks to Rajan Vatassery, a former CommonBond volunteer who, with his friends and community contacts, raises money for the award each year.

Endowment to HonorPaul Fate

Youth Scholarships Awarded

It was an incredible day of celebration on May 29, 2014 as U.S. Senator Al Franken keynoted the groundbreaking for CommonBond's Homes for Veterans at Fort Snelling. An excited crowd of local and national project partners and funders gathered for the much anticipated launch of this historic project. More than120 guests, along with local and national media, were on hand to learn more about the vital importance of providing homes for our nation's heroes.

�is construction project will transform �ve historic structures into 58 apartments on the Fort Snelling Upper Post. CommonBond, along with leading service partners, will provide life-changing services that include clinical mental health care, social and support counseling and monitoring, academic support, job training and more.

Breaking Ground at Fort Snelling

J O I N U S

Golf Tournament / Shooting EventMonday, Sept 22nd, 2014

For more information please call 651.288.8693

[ SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE ] FOLLOW US:Twitter @commonbondcommFacebook: CommonBond Communities

T I T L E S P O N S O R

2 0 1 4 G R A N D E G A L A

Uncommon Heroes2014 GrandeGala Raises over $640,000

Welcome Major Gifts O�cer

Thank you!TITLE SPONSORS