MAGGIE’S PLACE RECEIVES $600,000 GRANT FROM THE BOB & RENEE PARSONS FOUNDATION TO OPEN THE HANNAH HOUSE
Maggie’s Place will open its fourth Arizona Home, The Hannah House, thanks to a generous $600,000 grant from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, an Arizona-based charitable foundation established by Renee Parsons and her husband, GoDaddy founder, Bob Parsons. Maggie’s Place, which provides houses of hospitality for pregnant and parenting women in need, recently began planning to open a home in Mesa, Arizona in response to the community’s increasing number of pregnant women in need. Critical funding provided by the Foundation will enable The Hannah House to open its doors for up to seven pregnant or newly parenting women. The new moms will be supported by four live-in staff.
“The gift will allow Maggie’s Place to serve expectant women in vulnerable situations in the Mesa area. Through partnering with The Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation we will be able to further address a critical need in this community and help change the future for Arizona’s at-risk pregnant women and infants,” stated Maggie’s Place Executive Director Laura Magruder.
The gift will cover start-up costs for the renovation and construction of The Hannah House, facilitating a complete redesign of the existing property located on Dana Avenue in Mesa. The funding will also cover operating costs for the home for the first two years.
“Renee and I firmly believe that every person is entitled to good nutrition, medical care and a stress-free happy environment,” said Bob Parsons. “Maggie’s Place is a refuge for homeless expecting women, providing them with a safe environment to give birth and care for their new babies. It’s sad that anyone becomes homeless and has to live on the streets. But it is absolutely heartbreaking for a child to start his or her life there. This is why Maggie’s Place is so very important.”
The other three homes operated by Maggie’s Place, located in Phoenix, Tempe and Glendale, are consistently at capacity with a wait-list of pregnant women looking for a safe place to stay. The Hannah House will help offset this need and is set to open in 2014, once renovation is complete.
Bob Parsons is an American entrepreneur and the founder of GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar and Web hosting provider. Parsons is also the founder and CEO of Harley-Davidson of Scottsdale, Go AZ Motorcycles and a number of other successful Valley-based businesses. The Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation has awarded $28 million in critical funds since February of 2012 to organizations addressing critical needs both inside and outside of Arizona.
