Pardee donates to local charity

The Shade Tree, a shelter for women and children in crisis, was remembered again this year by employees of Pardee Homes, who collected and delivered more than $3,000 worth of gifts and goods for shelter residents in lieu of an employee holiday party.

Customer service vans were loaded with items from the shelter's holiday wish list that included necessities such as diapers, dog food, clothing, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products and gift cards.

That brings the total to more than $95,000 in support of The Shade Tree mission since 1994, according to Pardee Homes Southern Nevada Division President Klif Andrews.

The Shade Tree's 364 beds have been full for the past 18 months, according to Executive Director Marlene Richter, who credits companies such as Pardee for helping the shelter provide its services to women and children in crisis in Southern Nevada.

"Last year The Shade Tree served 75,511 women and 30,969 children, providing a total of 106,480 bed nights," Richter said. "On average we have seven new families each day who join us."

Located in downtown Las Vegas at the corner of Main Street and Owens Avenue, The Shade Tree provides more than shelter to their guests, who range from a 3-week-old preemie, who was born at the shelter, to an 85-year-old woman.

While The Shade Tree's mission is to provide a safe 24-hour accessible shelter for homeless women and children in crisis in the Las Vegas area, the organization also assists them in taking their first steps toward independent living. In addition, The Shade Tree includes Noah's Animal House to provide shelter for family pets from abusive households.

Clark County's only 24-hour accessible emergency shelter for women and mothers with children, The Shade Tree is the largest shelter of its kind in the state. The 38,000-square foot facility offers services such as victim services center, job skills development, housing placement assistance, mental health coordination, free health clinic and children's activity center. Call 385-0072 for more information.

"Pardee Homes has been in business in this community for nearly six decades and we are very proud of our reputation for giving back to the community in both good times and bad," Andrews said. "Our hope is that this gesture will help ease some of the challenges associated with keeping the shelter running at full capacity day in and out."

For the second consecutive year the Southern Nevada Division of Pardee Homes has received the highest rankings from J.D. Power and Associates for overall customer satisfaction and new home quality in the Las Vegas Market.

All Pardee Homes' sales offices are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday.

For additional information, visit pardeehomes.com. You can also follow the company on Facebook at facebook.com/PardeeHomesLasVegas.