The San Antonio Rampage and the Neighborhood Housing Service of San Antonio (NHS) recently teamed up to change the life of a local needy family by presenting them with a $5,000 check to go toward the down payment on a home.
Martina Villarreal, a 47-year-old single mother working two jobs, was able to close on the purchase of an existing home in the 200 block of Denton Drive in the north-central side of San Antonio.
The funds primarily came from the player’s own pockets, as each hockey player wanted to make a generous donation to help this dream become a reality for one deserving family.
The Rampage players chose this family from a list of ideal candidates provided by NHS, based on need and ability to successfully own a home in the future. The players’ wives and girlfriends also contributed by selling Rampage Christmas ornaments at select home games during December. In addition, H-E-B has donated $250 in gift cards toward their first week’s groceries.
NHS has built over 300 new homes, rehabbed over 100 existing homes, and made more than 1,200 loans totaling more than $19 million over the last 15 years. As a not-for-profit NeighborWorks Organization, NHS is a certified Full Cycle Lender. Offering pre-purchase counseling, homebuyer education, and post-purchase counseling and training, NHS of San Antonio has put hundreds of families on the path to successful home ownership.
The Rampage, a subsidiary of Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E), are the top minor league affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes playing in the American Hockey League. In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 83 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the sixth year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2006-07.
