Kimball Hill Delivers Housing Solutions

Kimball Hill Delivers Housing Solutions

David Hill, chairman and CEO of Kimball Hill Homes, believes strongly in the importance of transitional housing. It's one reason he and his company have an ongoing commitment to HomeAid America. Hill serves on the group's national advisory board.

For Show Village 2004, the Nevada division of Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Kimball Hill is partnering with Georgia-Pacific Corp. and the Nevada division of Atlanta-based Beazer Homes to construct a home that will be moved to Henderson, Nev., and then raffled. The raffle proceeds will provide startup funds for HomeAid's Las Vegas chapter, its 23rd nationwide.

Hill has worked with various local and national groups to solve the challenge of providing affordable housing as well as transitional housing. He laments the fact that in many communities, teachers, police officers and others important to a town's well-being often can't afford to live where they work.

Delivering transitional housing is just as daunting for many communities. "People who are down on their luck are often perfectly capable of getting back up if they have a place to live and can reorganize their lives," Hill says. "HomeAid is a powerful and growingly effective way to produce all types of transitional shelter."

Kimball Hill's most recent HomeAid project is an emergency domestic violence shelter in Rolling Meadows for WINGS Program Inc. WINGS, which stands for Women in Need Growing Stronger, provides long-term transitional living services and supportive programs to women and children facing homelessness and domestic violence in Chicago's north and northwest suburbs. Kimball Hill is serving as the builder captain and working in partnership with HomeAid Chicago and the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago to complete the project.

Kimball Hill is a good neighbor in numerous other ways. Hill says that in 2003, the company earmarked 2% of its pretax dollars for charitable endeavors. The long list of beneficiaries includes housing groups, educational projects and arts groups.

One group Kimball Hill supports is the Northwest Philanthropic Trust in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Its mission is "to foster a vibrant community where philanthropy is a way of life and where nonprofit organizations meet the needs of the community in the most effective and efficient manner." Its goals are to increase philanthropy, work with nonprofits to improve their performance and encourage leadership development of nonprofit boards.

Good neighbors: Kimball Hill employees get involved in their communities.

Hill is a founding board member of the NWPT.

Kimball Hill also has extended its generosity to the Northwest Cultural Council in Rolling Meadows. The NWCC organizes and promotes cultural events for residents of Chicago's northwest suburbs. Its Kids Meet Art program brings artists into local schools to do hands-on art projects with children. The NWCC also organizes poetry, visual arts, writing and music programs. Three Kimball Hill employees serve on the council's board, and the company has donated gallery and office space to the group for more than 13 years.

"My father [company founder D. Kimball Hill Sr.] showed me how much joy and satisfaction could come out of serving as opposed to just selling," Hill says. "Everyone wants to work for a company that's caring and considered a good neighbor in some sense. It's great for internal morale because we're doing good things. We encourage everyone to get involved, but it's not a requirement for working here. All employees know they have full permission to contribute to their community. Not surprisingly, many find it to be satisfying."