Strives Work Cited in White House Council for Community Solutions Report as a Leading Example of Community Collaborative Success


Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) June 07, 2012

The White House Council for Community Solutions has cited the Strive Partnership in a new report, recognizing the Partnerships success in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky in increasing high school graduation rates and college-attendance rates over a six-year period.

The report, titled Community Solutions for Opportunity Youth, is meant to highlight successful strategies to empower Americas youth, particularly those between ages 16-24 who have become disconnected from both school and jobs. The report, presented to President Obama this week, identified a dozen communities across the country where multiple sectors have pulled together in order to increase progress by more than 10 percent on a community-wide metric, and more than 100 additional communities that are making progress in this direction.

Specifically, the report recognized KnowledgeWorks, the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, and the University of Cincinnati for creating Strive in order to strategically address ways to solve the problem of high school graduation and college enrollment rates, among others.

A shared vision, deep research, and data-driven planning and evaluation were several important factors that made the program succeed. Strategically aligning existing resources against cradle-to-career needs has led to 40 of the 54 identified indicators moving in a positive direction with several including college enrollment rates, the report said about Strive.

Jeff Edmondson, Managing Director of the Strive Network that is now expanding the cradle to career approach nationwide, said the White House report validates that communities must be strategic to find ways to solve longstanding problems related to improving student achievement.

We realized, as are so many other communities that we have to stop being program rich and system poor. A spray and pray approach to improving outcomes for children does not work, Edmondson said. Once a community begins to focus their collective efforts to improve specific outcomes, the dial on student achievement will really start to move. Thats what our work is all about and that is what this report affirms. Over the long-term, the social and economic payoff is substantial for communities who do this well.

Greg Landsman, who heads the Strive Partnership in Cincinnati, said he was honored that the partnerships work was recognized.

This is really a testament to the contributions of all of our partners on the ground that carry out the work, apply the data, and seek to continuously improve outcomes for kids, Landsman said. If our community is seen as providing lessons others can draw from to improve, that makes us proud.

President Obama created the White House Council for Community Solutions in December 2010 by Executive Order to encourage the growth and maximize the impact of innovative community solutions and civic participation. The Council was charged with: identifying key attributes of successful community solutions; highlighting best practices, tools, and models of cross-sector collaboration and civic participation; and making recommendations on how to engage all stakeholders in community solutions that have a significant impact on solving the nations most serious problems.

The report comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Educations recently announced Race to the Top district competition, which awards school districts for developing partnerships that lead to Cradle to Career Results, Resource Alignment and Integrated Services. In essence, it gives districts working with partners a path to shift from loosely defined collaboration to concrete goals and expectations for performance and accountability among all those who are investing time, talent and treasure in the success of children.

To read the full White House Council for Community Solutions report, please click on this link.

The House Designers, Fypon


Portland, Oregon (PRWEB) September 26, 2012

A recent press release by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) states that new home construction rose 2.3 percent nationally to an adjusted annual rate of 750,000 units in August. New figures released from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau confirm this increase was fueled entirely by gains in the single-family sector, where new construction accelerated in every region for a combined 5.5 percent gain to 535,000 units, the fastest growth in two years.

“Builders across the country have been reporting noticeable improvement in the number of serious buyers who are in the market for a new home, and today’s report shows that this is translating to some welcome gains in construction activity,” said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in a recent press release. “While there is still plenty of room for improvement, it’s encouraging to see this continuing trend that is spurring much-needed job growth.”

According to The House Designers, a leading provider of online stock house plans, house plan sales continued to increase by 10% each month over 2011. The top 5 states for house plan sales in 2012 are the same as in 2011 and include Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

“The pace of overall housing production has been edging gradually upward all year as consumers become more confident in their local housing markets, and the latest data are further evidence that the housing recovery is here to stay,” added NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “That said, the pace of this recovery continues to be constrained by various hurdles, including a tough lending environment, inaccurate appraisals and more recently, rising prices on key building materials.”

The House Designers reports that many of their house plans customers originally considered purchasing an existing home, but were often surprised to find that building a new home was more affordable. TheHouseDesigners.com offers over 6,000 house plans in a wide variety of sizes and architectural styles, which can all be customized at a fraction of the cost of having an architect create a custom home design.

While the average size of a home is now 2,100-2,500 square feet, consumers still demand an open/flexible floor plan with all the same amenities of a much larger home plan, said Tammy Crosby, Chief Operating Officer of The House Designers. With the cost to operate and maintain at the top of consumers concerns, weve found a big increase in sales in our exclusive Green/ENERGY STAR

The House Designers Showcase Customer Testimonials


Portland, Oregon (PRWEB) July 11, 2012

The House Designers recently redesigned its free weekly e-newsletter Home Ideas that offers innovative home design ideas and cutting-edge new home product suggestions. The new Home Ideas spotlights house plans from its best-selling architectural styles and specialty collections as well as showcasing some of the newest, most innovative home products from leading manufacturers like Therma-Tru, Fypon, Lumber Liquidators and Raynor.

To celebrate the new issue, The House Designers launched its monthly Customers Stories series featuring an interview with photographs of a young military family building their dream home. Wayne and Katie had lived at various locations throughout the U.S. while Wayne was deployed overseas serving his country for the last eight years until he was promoted to officer and finally able to choose a permanent residence.

What it boiled down to was we really wanted to settle down and the option to build was more affordable than buying, said Katie, who decided to move to Sackets Harbor, New York, because it most resembled their hometown in Wisconsin. We needed to stay affordable and knew exactly what we could pay per square footage. We were so happy when we found the Wilson Creek House Plan at TheHouseDesigners.com because it was small, but perfectly cozy for us.

We also really appreciated the military discount that was given to us, it was very generous of The House Designers, said Katie, who received 10% off their house plan purchase. We were very pleased with all the great customer service we received and will be sure to use The House Designers services again in the future and refer our friends to the site. Click here to read the full story.

Every month will feature an issue where consumers will share their home building experience and their favorite home building products with The House Designers readers and prospective homebuilders.

We take our customer feedback and testimonials serious, says Tammy Crosby, Chief Operating Officer of The House Designers. We realize great customer testimonials are paramount to building a solid reputation and consumer purchasing confidence.

Reading about one of our consumers or home builders personal experience of buying one of our stock house plans and seeing photographs of the built home is invaluable to others considering that same home plan.

Consumers searching for a general contractor to build a new home can visit The House Designers Preferred Builder Program. A search by state option is available in the builder directory which features photographs of completed home construction projects, customer testimonials and a detailed business profile to easily place bids and obtain builders estimates.

The House Designers makes it easy for consumers and builders to share their opinions and beautiful photographs and floor plans of their new homes through these social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Houzz, WordPress and Google+.

About The House Designers: The House Designers is a leading, online residential house plan provider representing top U.S. architects and designers who comprise the majority of pre-drawn plans in America. The House Designers has the best-selling, most popular house plans in America all under one roof owned and operated directly by the architects and designers. The House Designers has clients who have built their homes in every state in the U.S. and in 56 countries around the globe.







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New Company, Modern Dwell Numbers, Opens for Business, Offering Modern House Numbers for Those With An Appreciation for Contemporary Design


Mesilla Park, NM (PRWEB) July 29, 2012

Modern Dwell Numbers is a new company that specializes in high-design modern house numbers and letters for modern homes and buildings. Sleek and sophisticated, Modern Dwell Numbers add an alluring nuance to contemporary fa

Passive House Retreat Wins 2012 EcoHome Design Award


Boston, MA (PRWEB) July 25, 2012

The Passive House Retreat, a modern green home by ZeroEnergy Design and AEDI Construction, received a Grand Award in the 2012 EcoHome Design Awards hosted by Hanleywood’s EcoHome Magazine. Aligned with the magazines philosophy, the award recognizes homes constructed using sustainable building practices and demonstrating innovative design and thoughtful use of site and materials.

EcoHome Design Award issue: http://mydigimag.rrd.com/publication/?i=118562&page=1

The new vacation residence located in a beautiful community on the New England coast features high performance and efficient use of space in a small package. The home is LEED Gold & Energy Star certified, built to the Passive House standard, and consumes only one tenth of the energy for heating compared to a similar new home built to code.

ZeroEnergy Design created a sleek, simple, gable roofed structure, and proposed the Passive House standard, which is a building performance standard that yields an extremely low-energy home. A combination of exceptional insulation, air sealing, high performance windows, and solar gain reduces the heating requirements to a fraction of a typical home, and uses only a very small heating system. The homeowners, whose extended families owned large, drafty, energy inefficient homes, immediately understood that the Passive House standard would provide both the energy savings and the increased comfort. They now enjoy a space with no wintertime drafts and very constant temperature throughout the home.

The Passive House Retreat is an example our firm’s ongoing commitment to pair a simple appealing aesthetic with exceptional energy performance said Stephanie Horowitz, AIA CPHC, Managing Director of ZeroEnergy Design.

The key project team members include ZeroEnergy Design for green architecture, Passive House consulting and mechanical design, and AEDI Construction for general contracting.

About ZED:

ZeroEnergy Design is a green architecture, mechanical design and energy consulting firm specializing in new construction and major renovations. The distinct union of great design and energy performance is enabled by a multidisciplinary team whose expertise spans architecture, mechanical engineering and finance. This integrated design approach makes ZED uniquely equipped to originate designs that are tailored to a clients requirements, environmental ideology, and unique sense of style.

http://www.ZeroEnergy.com







The House Designers Unveil Three New House Plans, Custom T-Shirts and Fathers Day Promo


Portland, OR (PRWEB) June 13, 2012

The House Designers, which is comprised of the leading architects and designers in the United States, is pleased to announce the addition of three new house plans to its collection of over 6,000 best-selling online house plans.

These new designs all feature an open floor plan for easy living, sustainable building products and design techniques and offer flexible living spaces like bonus rooms to meet the changing needs of homeowners.

Our designers and architects are committed to providing the best quality, most innovative house plans for consumers and builders at the most affordable price, said Tammy Crosby, COO of The House Designers. Our pre-drawn house plans are designed by the countrys top architects with cutting-edge design details like master bedrooms on the first floor, home offices, mudrooms and outdoor living areas.

The House Designers offers an easy-to-navigate website that allows visitors to browse specific architectural styles and popular collections as well as an advanced search page with lots of design preference options. Visitors can narrow search results with options like porch preferences, garage location and master bedroom placement just to name a few.

Each plan page includes detailed information about the layout including foundation options, cost-to-build estimates, high quality color photography and renderings and lots of interior images of actual homes built.

In addition to offering thousands of best-selling house plans, The House Designers has an in-house modification department to customize plans, a customized cost-to-build estimator and home plan specialists to assist consumers and builders in finding the perfect house plan. Visitors who purchase a house plan can receive a free custom t-shirt by visiting The House Designers on Facebook.

Here are three new home designs fresh from the drawing board, which have been recently been added to thehousedesigners.com:

The sleek, modern one story Riverside House Plan is an extremely efficient floor plan for 2,334 square feet. It features an office, three generously sized bedrooms, optional basement foundation and a three-car garage. The kitchen is a cooks dream with plenty of countertop space, storage and the latest in high-end appliances. View additional images and the floor plan of this new modern house plan: http://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/riverside-3058/

This small contemporary green house plan was designed to be economical to build and maintain while not compromising functionality and aesthetics. It features a perfectly square building envelope that is 1,350 square feet. An open floor plan makes for easy living and entertaining and features all the latest in energy efficient kitchen, lighting and HVAC products. View additional images and the floor plan of the Hummingbird h3 floor plan: http://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/hummingbird-h3-4382/

The Chambre de Benissez House Plan is a new Craftsman house plan with a charming rustic exterior featuring a wraparound porch and covered lanai. The dining room has a butler’s pantry, which leads to an island kitchen and view into the vaulted great room with a comfortable and open gathering space. The master suite is secluded and features a spa bath, coffee bar and over 100 square feet of closet space. View additional images and the floor plans, including two alternate second floor plans and a bonus room above the garage: http://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/chambre-de-benissez-4440/

In honor of Fathers Day The House Designers is pleased to offer up to $ 100 off of all house plans as well as free shipping from Friday, June 15 through midnight of June 17, 2012. Consumers simply need to like The House Designers on Facebook to receive the promo code.

ABOUT THE HOUSE DESIGNERS: The House Designers is a leading, online residential house plan provider representing top U.S. architects and designers who comprise the majority of pre-drawn plans in America. THD has the best-selling, most popular house plans in America all under one roof owned and operated directly by the designers. THD has clients who have built their homes in every state in the U.S. and in 56 countries around the globe.







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From Adolescence to Sophistication in Ann Arbor: A Whole House Remodel

Ann Arbor, MI (PRWEB) May 10, 2012

“From adolescence to sophistication” was the goal expressed by Architectural Resources Ann Arbor client at the beginning of a master-planned, multi-phased whole house remodeling and addition project. Originally designed many years ago by the self-proclaimed ‘recovering architect’ homeowner, the home was in need of updating and attention. The project included a completely remodeled first floor, including a new bedroom wing and ‘Tree House’ sanctuary overlooking a beautiful setting with ponds and natural landscaping. For additional information on the project, visit http://www.arcrestour.com.

This home is the fourth of 10 stellar projects featured on this year’s NARI Tour of Remodeled Homes, an annual event showcasing the best in residential remodeling design and construction. For additional information and to download the tour brochure and annual NARI membership directory, visit http://www.narisemich.org.

Project Background

The homes original 1980s design was steeped in “post modern” architectural folly. In the clients own words, the home needed to grow and mature from adolescence to sophistication to match the homeowners style and attitude. A careful, sensitive design approach and the art of understatement and restraint were utilized to make subtle but significant changes to the existing home, including two modest additions carefully scaled to complement the main home.

To the north a new main floor and fully accessible Master Suite Pavilion wing with a Home Office “Link” connector was added. The Master Suite Pavilion was designed with “long life-loose fit” strategies in mind, recognizing that the homeowners needs will change over time.

The main house family gathering space received an authentic Rumford-style, full masonry fireplace as a stunning focal point, along with new ridge beam and skylights to open up the space visually. The new functional and elegant floating slab stairway to the west of the family gathering space was exquisitely crafted from sustainably harvested Brazilian Cherry.

Although the kitchen maintained its essential layout, it was completely redesigned in a subtle yet effective manner. Major changes included a custom cast concrete topped island and a redesign of the “post modern” inspired window array to open the views of the meadow and ponds to the south. The new elevated “Tree House” sanctuary to the south of the home was an exciting introduction, as it allowed for elevated viewing and a connection to nature with the meadow, gardens and ponds below.

About the Architect: Architectural Resource

Architectural Resource is a nationally recognized, award-winning architectural design firm specializing exclusively in residential design. Architectural Resource is Michigan’s leading green residential remodeling design firm responsible for Michigans first three USGBC LEED Platinum remodels. Experts in Not So Big

G4S Renews Commitment with White House Joining Forces Campaign


Jupiter, FL (PRWEB) June 12, 2012

G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc. (G4S) plans to hire 6,000 returning military veterans and their family members by the end of 2013. So far, G4S has hired 3,000 veterans across the US since the 2011 start of the White House Joining Forces campaign.

I am proud our company continues to be a sought-after employer for returning veterans and their family members. G4S leads the security industry in providing quality security officer personnel. Our veterans are a key part of that, said Drew Levine, President.

The Joining Forces campaign was officially launched at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in June 2011 by First Lady Michele Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of the Vice President. The comprehensive national initiative mobilizes large and small companies and non-profit organizations in an effort to give service members and their families the opportunity and support they have earned.

Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden stated a goal to build a program that can continue for years to come. Our military families deserve our respect and support at every stage of their lives no matter whos in office, Obama said.

Joining Forces will be part of our continuing efforts at G4S to provide employment to our veterans and a showcase for their skills, experience and dedication, said Levine.

G4S has consistently been recognized for military outreach initiatives. G4S was named to the G.I. Jobs Top 100 Military Friendly Employers

SEO India Reaches its 20th Month Working Relationship with a House Plan Retailer


Bangalore, India (PRWEB) June 18, 2012

Over the past 20 months, SEO India (http://www.seoindia.net/), a search engine optimization company based in Bangalore, India, has been overseeing all the SEO activities for an online house plans seller. This month, SEO India hits the 20th month milestone and continues to offer great traffic and visibility for an house plans seller. SEO Indias terrific efforts have provided us good online visibility and traffic. We have now joined the ranks of competing sites that are 10 to 15 years older than we are. I couldn’t be happier with the progress and look forward to a continuing business relationship with SEO India, said Matt, owner of house plans retailer in California.

Matt manages California-based house plans company that offers residential building design solutions including architectural designs, house plans and modeling advice for home owners. The company sells a wide range of house plans with instant cost-to-build report and estimates for home remodeling needs.

The website sees a large number of daily traffic and sign ups. According to Matt, the success of the website can be attributed to their user-friendly website design, their offerings and equally importantly, the targeted marketing activities and online branding by SEO India.

SEO India has played a significant role in building online visibility and traffic for the house plan retailers website. By developing ongoing collaboration with a number of satisfied clients, the company is committed to provide high quality SEO and Online Marketing services worldwide. With our unwavering commitment to providing unparalleled services to our clients, we will continue helping our clients achieve online visibility, says Vivek Srivastava, the CEO and Founder of SEO India.

The year of 2012 has shaken many online businesses with Google introducing multiple algorithm updates like Panda and Penguin. However, the house plans retailers website has not seen any negative impact on their rankings and continues to hold its positions on the first page of Google search results.

Today, when online businesses are vying to get to the top of Google search engine results, SEO India has proven to be a great asset for their clients. What makes them different from other SEO companies is that they do not spam search engines, instead, they use quality content for earning natural inbound links for their clients.

For more information, please visit: http://www.seoindia.net/

About SEO India: SEO India offers search engine optimization (SEO) services to businesses of all sizes. They employ organic search engine marketing techniques for generating traffic and increasing brand visibility online. With over 162 projects completed in over 44 business sectors, SEO India has experience in working with a wide range of clients worldwide.