LOS ANGELES, Dec. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) helped spruce up a community center for families living in affordable housing in Rancho Cucamonga, enlisting employee volunteers and donating $10,000 to the non-profit organization which runs the facility. Employee volunteers painted the walls, assembled new furniture for the space and donated books and games for the children who spend time at the center. The facility, located in the Sunset Heights Apartment Homes community, holds after-school programs for at-risk youth of all ages to foster their well-being and promote self-sufficiency. It is operated by Hope through Housing Foundation, a non-profit organization which serves low-income and underserved families who live in National Community Renaissance (National CORE) properties. Photos from today's beautification project are available here.
"SoCalGas is proud to partner with the Hope through Housing Foundation and National CORE to assist this organization and beautify a place for children to study and play after school," said Trisha Muse, community relations director at SoCalGas. "SoCalGas is committed to supporting the communities we serve, not only by providing affordable and reliable energy, but also through our partnerships with organizations who are working to assist our friends and neighbors in the community."
"We are grateful for outstanding partners like SoCalGas that help us to meet our mission of transforming lives and communities," said Gregory Bradbard, president of Hope through Housing. "Today's project and their financial support will allow us to better prepare youth for a bright future."
In addition to the beautification project and grant, SoCalGas has also completed work at the Sunset Heights Apartment Homes through the gas company's Energy Savings Assistance Program (ESA). The upgrades completed at the property include installing door weather-stripping, faucet aerators, low-flow showerheads, and tuning and cleaning furnaces. These upgrades aim to improve the comfort of the residents living at Sunset Heights and come at no cost to the property owner through the ESA program.
In 1998, the Hope through Housing Foundation was established to empower residents of National Community Renaissance (National CORE), one of the largest nonprofit affordable housing developers in the country. Wanting to do more to help the children, families and seniors who lived in its communities, the Hope through Housing Foundation was established to deliver a broad range of charitable and educational programs for children, young adults, low-income and underprivileged families and the general public.
Today, Hope through Housing is dedicated to elevating the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of National CORE residents. With a mission of breaking the generational cycle of poverty, the organization provides essential tools, guidance, and support to the low-income children, families and seniors it serves each day.
Last year, SoCalGas donated more than $7 million to non-profits and community organizations. SoCalGas employees contributed more than $700,000 dollars through payroll deductions and performed thousands of volunteer hours for various nonprofit groups throughout its service territory.
SoCalGas continues to be a leader in implementing energy efficiency and low-income programs that provide assistance to customers and protect the environment. Between 2014 and 2018, SoCalGas energy efficiency programs delivered more than 180 million therms in energy savings, enough natural gas usage for 403,000 households a year, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by nearly 955,000 metric tons, the equivalent of removing more than 202,000 cars from the road annually. These advances have also helped save SoCalGas customers more than $198 million in utility bill costs. In 2018 alone, SoCalGas' energy efficiency programs saved customers $57 million and treated close to 100,000 homes.
In addition, SoCalGas remains dedicated to improving our environment and supporting California's environmental goals. Earlier this year, SoCalGas committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030 – as part of a broad, inclusive and integrated plan to help achieve California's climate goals while maintaining affordability, reliability and choice for its customers.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians— about 45 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.
SoCalGas' vision is to be the cleanest natural gas utility in North America, delivering affordable and increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its natural gas system infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural gas system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.
SOURCE Southern California Gas Company
