FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 18, 2002
CONTACT: corprel@freddiemac.com
or phone (703) 903-4384

FOUNDATION INVESTS NEARLY $4 MILLION IN INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS THAT PREVENT ABUSE AND FIND HOMES FOR DC AREA CHILDREN
Recent Giving Includes Local Grant to Help Prepare DC Students to Enter College

WASHINGTON, DC – In recent giving, the Freddie Mac Foundation continued its ongoing efforts to strengthen and revitalize communities by awarding nearly $4 million in grants to organizations whose innovative programs help better the lives of children and families living in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and in cities of Freddie Mac's regional offices.

"These grants help ensure that area youth and their families receive the essential tools necessary to realize their dreams. We are especially pleased to be supporting those programs that help strengthen the lives of children and families living right here in our own community," explained Maxine B. Baker, president and CEO, Freddie Mac Foundation.

The Foundation, which is dedicated to opening the doors to hope and opportunity for children and their families, approved 100 grants in this round of grant making. Last year, the Foundation granted about $20 million to organizations working to strengthen families by preventing child abuse and neglect, finding homes for foster children and supporting youth development. Each year more than three million cases of abuse and neglect are reported and the number of children in the foster care system has increased to well over 550,000.

A majority of the second quarter grants made enhance the lives of children in the District of Columbia and neighboring areas. In the District of Columbia, College Bound, Inc. was given $35,000 to provide low-income students in the District with an academic enrichment track designed to strengthen study skills, improve academic performance, and prepare them for challenging college entrance exams.

Grants to other DC area organizations included Developing Hearts Systems, Inc., which received $100,000 to partner with Healthy Families America in three states and the District of Columbia to reproduce and distribute the "Bonding with Baby" kit, one of several new tools to help disadvantaged parents build strong relationships with their children and prepare them to enter school; Latin American Youth Center, which received $100,000 to provide emergency and long-term housing and support services to children who are abused, neglected, runaway, or homeless within the District of Columbia; The Women's Center, which received $95,000 to strengthen families in need in the DC area and enable them to become self sufficient through psychological, financial, legal and career counseling; National Building Museum, which received $50,000 to provide outreach programs to at-risk DC students in middle and high school designed to use America's building heritage as an educational tool and outlet to further develop their critical and creative thinking skills, and Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund, which also received $50,000 to assist disadvantaged youth of the Washington, DC area in achieving educational and career success through mentoring, standardized test preparatory classes, and internships.

In Maryland, several organizations received funding for their programs, including the United Way of Central Maryland, which received $92,000 to continue the development and implementation of the Healthy Families Maryland statewide system to prevent child abuse and neglect and build stronger families, and the Maryland Mentoring Partnership, which received $40,000 to strengthen existing mentoring programs and develop new programs designed to enhance academic and career opportunities for youth in the Maryland area.

Among several grant recipients in Virginia were the Action Alliance for Virginia's Children and Youth, which received $100,000 to build public awareness and action on issues affecting vulnerable children, youth, and families in Virginia including early care and education, children's health, and economic security, and the Easter Seal Society for Disabled Children and Adults, Inc., which received $50,000 to improve developmental and educational outcomes for at-risk children in Fairfax County, and to prepare them for success in school through parenting education, early childhood education, and early intervention.

For a full list of the grants made during this past quarter, click here.

Created by Freddie Mac in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to opening the doors to hope and opportunity to children and their families. As one of the largest corporate funders in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested more than $130 million in nonprofit organizations serving children and families.