blog and news

“He planted a tree and watched the community grow.”

Those were the words of a parent, whose son recently completed his Eagle Scout project planting trees at A New Leaf’s shelter.

A New Leaf is receiving a record number of back to school items this year to benefit 150 children staying at A New Leaf’s shelters and affordable housing units – all because of a generous donation from International Cruise & Excursions (ICE), Inc.

Chris Miner is an optimist – and his positive outlook is changing lives at A New Leaf.

As a newly elected Board member and donor, Chris is bringing a compassionate “can-do” energy to the organization.

“Sometimes we demonize people in a bad situation,” says Chris. “In reality, most of us are two paychecks away from crisis. You don’t plan to be homeless or hungry; it happens, and you have to rely on the generosity of others. But with hard work, you can always find a way to succeed.”

A New Leaf has received a reservation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Arizona Department of Housing connected to development of additional housing on the La Mesita Campus in Mesa.

This means that Phase 3 of the campus will move forward, a $7.5 million project with 30 units of permanent housing for those transitioning from homelessness.

Twenty people in one house. Erica Martinez, mother of three young children, ages 2 to 7, was living with her mother, sibilings, and cousins in a very small home in Phoenix. The family was squeezed into tiny rooms, sleeping on the floor.

“It was very difficult,” says Erica. “With that many people in the house, there was no room to do anything. We would eat on the floor, taking turns sitting outside when it got too crowded. Ultimately, there was just no room for my family.”

This year’s Board, Donor & Volunteer Luncheon welcomed the dedicated supporters of A New Leaf for a special afternoon of recognition and celebration. The event was held at the East Valley Institute of Technology’s Culinary Arts Program and celebrated “Seeds of Kindness” – the volunteer service and financial and in-kind contributions made by A New Leaf’s dedicated supporters.

A New Leaf’s La Mesita Family Homeless Shelter has now opened. A gathering of civic leaders, donors, corporate partners and Board members celebrated today the grand opening of the new shelter, located on the La Mesita Campus in downtown Mesa.

Republic Media (Arizona Republic, azcentral.com, and 12News) donated $50,000 to A New Leaf’s domestic violence shelters through the Season of Sharing campaign.

“We are thrilled with this act of generosity,” said Torrie Taj, Deputy CEO of A New Leaf. “On behalf of the 3,000 survivors of domestic violence served by A New Leaf, we thank Republic Media for their life-saving gift.”