Hayden unveils Give as you Go community support program
Hayden Homes has developed more than a dozen neighborhoods in Moses Lake including Polo Ridge, shown here. Hayden recently inaugurated its Give as you Go program, to help disadvantaged families own homes and to contribute to local nonprofits.
FILE PHOTO
REDMOND, Ore. — Hayden Homes, the Oregon-based builder behind more than a dozen Moses Lake housing developments, announced recently that it is pledging $25 million in charitable giving over the next four years through its Give as you Go initiative.
“It always kind of bothered me when my friends’ companies would be like ‘Hey, it’s Christmas, so we should give back,’” said Hayden Homes CEO Dennis Murphy. “And as silly as it sounds, the thing in my head was, ‘Why’d you take so much in the first place?’ If you have to stop and give back, doesn’t it make more sense to just not take as much and give as you go?”
There are two key pillars to the Give as you Go fund, according to the announcement. The first directly involves homeowners: For each new home sold, Hayden will donate $300 to the fund. Part of that will go to a nonprofit selected with the home buyer’s input.
“If a customer is very passionate about Boys and Girls Club or YMCA or whatever it is, they can nominate that effort and that will be listed as one of the possible places where those funds go,” Murphy said.
The rest of the $300 will go to First Story, Hayden’s nonprofit lender aimed at creating affordable homeownership opportunities for under-resourced families, according to the announcement.
“(First Story) builds houses for families that otherwise wouldn’t own a home,” Murphy said. “First Story, zero down payment, zero interest loans. The recipient just makes a payment every month of their principal and in 30 years, they own it and we hand them the title.”
First Story built its first house in 2001 and has built 128 so far, Murphy said. Five of those are in Moses Lake, said Vice President of Community Engagement & Giving Deb Flagan, the first one built in 2008.
“In addition, we also give to housing nonprofits (supporting) youth and education and food security (including) the Moses Lake Food Bank,” Flagan said.
Hayden’s business model is producing homes that a median-income wage earner can afford, Flagan said.
“We want to be able to bring these homes to market so the workforce can thrive in these communities and the families can have an affordable place to live,” Flagan said. “And that will continue to be our commitment.”