A Hillsides child participates in one of the many carnival games while Thomas Safran & Associates employees look on. Photo credit: Marisol Barrios/Hillsides

Thomas Safran and Associates (TSA), a Los Angeles affordable housing developer, raised $98,866 for Hillsides during the company’s annual fundraising and service event, the Big Give. The announcement was made on Hillsides Pasadena campus on September 11 during the event.

The money and gifts were raised during a month-long fundraising drive by the 150 employees of TSA and residents of 49 TSA buildings. People fundraised for Hillsides through a variety of events, including a benefit spaghetti dinner, a community silent auction, and a trike-a-thon.

“We are overwhelmed and overcome by the generosity of TSA,” said Hillsides CEO Joseph M. Costa. “It is incredible how many people worked so hard to raise funds and donations for our children. We are touched from the bottom of our hearts.”

The Big Give got off to an early start on September 11 when 150 TSA employees arrived on campus for a breakfast and a rally. This was followed with a musical performance by Hillsides children and a welcome and thank you by Pasadena mayor Bill Bogaard.

Jordan Pynes, the president of management at TSA, also spoke. He addressed the significance of the Big Give falling on September 11. “We can still mourn,” he said. “But we can also transform this date into a time of giving back to our community.”

September 11 has personal significance for Hillsides. Two of Hillsides most ardent supporters, David and Lynn Angell, lost their lives during the tragedy when their plane crashed into the World Trade Center. Lynn served as Hillsides volunteer librarian and provided the funds to renovate the Hillsides library. As part of the Big Give, Pynes announced that TSA was donating 1,000 books to the children of Hillsides and the library.

An alumna of Hillsides, Jamie Steinberg, also spoke. Steinberg lived at Hillsides 27 years ago, but had not heard of the charity again until her son’s pre-school, housed in a TSA building in Marina Del Rey, CA participated in a fundraiser for The Big Give. She told the crowd how after a traumatic upbringing, she felt safe and cared for at Hillsides. She said that Hillsides was key in arranging for her to be adopted when she was 10 and how good it felt “to now be part of giving back.”

After the program, TSA employees dispersed throughout Hillsides campus, painting, repairing, and landscaping. Next, the employees put on an elaborate carnival for Hillsides children that included games, food stands, music, a dunk tank, and a rock wall.

When asked what she thought of the carnival, one Hillsides girl, 10, ranked the Carnival a 100 out of a scale of 1 – 10, and not just because of the blue cotton candy she was eating. “Everyone took the time to do this for me,” she said. “A lot of people wouldn’t do this.”

TSA was supported in the event by three presenting sponsors: ICON Builders, a general contracting firm, MUFG Union Bank N.A., and the Southern California non-profit BookEnds.

This is TSA’s 7th annual Big Give. Each year, the company partners with one charity, and this year it chose Hillsides.

TSA owns and manages more than 5,000 units of affordable housing in California. The company is deeply committed to giving back to the community. Its goal is to “enhance the world in which we live and enrich the lives of the people who reside in their buildings.” For more information on TSA, please visit http://www.tsahousing.com.

Hillsides is a premier provider dedicated to improving the overall well-being and functioning of vulnerable children, youth, and their families. For more information, please visit www.hillsides.org.