$215,000 Was Raised at Project Access Awards Dinner for Services to Low Inco

The Project Access Fourth Annual “Keys to Success” Awards Dinner and silent auction, held on Saturday evening, September 26, at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, raised $215,000 and netting $165,000 for its various programs benefiting more than 8,500 youth, adults, and seniors living in 33 affordable housing communities throughout California . 235 people attended the event.

The awards dinner honored community leader The Bascom Group, a private equity firm in Orange County, California, which specializes in value-added multifamily real estate investments.

Project Access awarded six $1,000 scholarships to adults and youth living in those communities. In a surprise announcement, Bascom Group co-founder and Managing Partner David Kim, doubled the scholarship amounts. He spoke on behalf of his two co-founders and managing partners, Derek Chen and Jerome Fink.

The six $1,000 scholarship winners were chosen through their demonstrated determination to continue their education and increase their probability of gaining future self-sufficiency and independence. Winners are Cal State Fullerton psychology major Daniela Recinos; future nurse Abigail Lopez; black-belt, recent high school graduate and volunteer Donghoon Lee; full-time mother and college student Tawni Kirkpatrick; future certified nurse practitioner Mayra Perez; and high school honors student graduate and future pharmacist Agape Awad.

Project Access also honored the Alcantar family as “2009 Family of the Year.” They were recognized for turning their lives around in a meaningful way as a result of taking advantage of the programs and services offered by Project Access. In another surprise, the Bascom Group awarded the family with four months of free rent.

The awards dinner was hosted for the second year in a row by actor and comedian Jay Mohr who currently stars in the CBS sitcom “Gary Unmarried.”

The 2009 awards dinner honoree, The Bascom Group, was recognized for its extraordinary community leadership through numerous outreach programs that aid and support residents and local neighborhoods. In addition to creating value-added renovations and improvements that have reached well into the millions of dollars, The Bascom Group has developed community outreach programs that support residents and local neighborhoods, including offering free rent to teachers and police officers in exchange for their on-site services.

One-hundred percent of the proceeds raised by the fundraiser is going toward funding Project Access services, not to operations. For more information about Project Access, contact Debra Fine at (949) 253-6200 ext. 302 or go to http://www.Project-Access.org

About Project Access
Founded in 1999 by Jonathan B. Webb, Project Access is the premier onsite service provider for families living in low income housing. It provides individuals, families and seniors access to onsite health, education and social services so they can lead a better life. Their goal is to keep families employed, children in school and seniors active. Today, Project Access serves more than 8,500 residents in over 33 affordable housing communities in California. Corporate offices are located in Newport Beach, California. For more information, visit www.project-access.org.

About the Bascom Group
Founded in 1996 by Derek Chen, Jerome Fink, and David Kim, The Bascom Group is a private equity firm in Orange County, California, specializing in value-added multifamily real estate investments. They invest time in educational outreach programs and donate funds into the community to enhance the lives of residents and those around them. By taking small but valuable steps towards changing one apartment community at a time, their programs have infiltrated and affected schools K-12, local non-profit organizations, and small businesses and community groups.

About Jay Mohr
Jay Mohr is an actor, writer, producer and comedian who has worked as a stand-up, in radio and television, and co-starred in 20 feature films. Mohr currently stars as newly divorced dad Gary Brooks on the CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried.