Mark-Taylor Residential Receives Highest Volunteer Honor in Arizona

Scottsdale, Ariz.–Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism honored Mark-Taylor Residential with a prestigious state volunteerism award for the firm’s involvement in helping homeless families.

Known as the Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards, the program recognizes Arizona individuals, youths, groups, nonprofits, government agencies and businesses that contribute their time and talents to help their communities. According to the governor’s office, more than 300 nominations were received for the awards; a statewide panel of judges evaluated the nominations based on need, action, innovation and impact.

The judges selected 11 winners from over 300 entries. Mark-Taylor was recognized in the large business category.

“We are so honored by this award,” says Dale Phillips, president of Mark-Taylor Residential. “We just wanted to help Save the Family in the best way we knew how and give these families a fresh start.”

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based multifamily company began working several years ago with Save The Family, Phoenix-area nonprofit that helps homeless families become financially self-sufficient. But Mark-Taylor significantly expanded that commitment in 2009, providing rent-free apartments to 12 Save the Family clients for one year, much to the nonprofit’s gratitude.

“Mark-Taylor afforded us the opportunity to take those families who were excelling in the program, but who had not developed enough savings to purchase a home or who were not earning enough monthly income, to afford a fair-market-rate apartment,” says Andrea J. Sok, director of community relations for Save the Family, which wants to break the cycle of poverty by providing counseling, life skills classes, and practical housing assistance to its clients.

“The generosity and genuine caring that Mark-Taylor and its employees have shown for Save the Family is unparalleled,” says Sok. “They have developed a unique solution to the housing crisis, providing families with a second chance in life. They have given families the opportunity to save for their future while working to rebuild their families.”