Mindy Black and Jeff Reibman enjoying the HDC Luncheon photo booth.

Five Weber Thompson staff and five guests joined 700 others in support of affordable housing at the Housing Development Consortium’s 7th annual member celebration luncheon.

The HDC is a non-profit organization whose mission we strongly support: to promote collaboration and cooperation among the many different people and agencies working to meet the housing needs of limited income residents throughout King County. Providing access to safe, affordable housing is a cause we are passionate about and are dedicated to supporting.

Catherine Benotto, Jeff Reibman, Amanda Keating, Mindy Black, and Kirsten Clemens were on hand at the Weber Thompson table to enjoy the event. HDC Executive Director Marty Kooistra presented an impact report detailing the needs in our region and the work of the organization and its members. HDC members have built over 43,200 homes, providing affordable housing to 116,800 people, 9,800 of them children. The construction of affordable housing also directly supported an estimated 4,500 jobs in King County in 2014.

Keynote speaker Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post opened with some timely political jokes and thoughts on the violence in Baltimore. He reminded attendees of the role housing plays in creating economic opportunities and stable communities. Facing a declining population, Baltimore’s challenges are much different than Seattle’s. Yet access to safe, stable and affordable housing is a major hurdle in both cities, and a key factor in gaining access to the ladder of opportunity for many low-income, disadvantaged individuals.

A special thanks to our staff and our guests, Matt Anderson, Stacy Segal, Tejal Pastakia, Tom Eanes, and Victor Acantara, for attending and supporting the HDC. The event was a big success, raising nearly $30,000 more than last year for a total of over $167,000.

Learn more about the HDC or read their member impact report.