Consumers Energy Provides $20,000 in Support to Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity

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Volunteers, Donation Promote Safe, Affordable Housing in SW Michigan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 12, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Consumers Energy today announced a $20,000 donation to Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity, making a joint commitment to providing safe and affordable housing to residents.

Consumers Energy Vice President John Broschak presented the donation to Habitat officials at a Habitat home on Cameron Street in Kalamazoo, where more than a dozen company volunteers joined state legislators and Habitat volunteers in doing rehabilitation work last month.

“World Habitat Day was celebrated Monday, and it’s fitting that we highlight our commitment to supporting Habitat’s mission and to building strong Michigan communities,” said Broschak, Consumers Energy’s vice president of major projects. “Our Promise to care for the Michigan communities we serve includes continually nurturing our relationship with this great organization.”

Don Jones, executive director of Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity, accepted the check.

“We greatly appreciate not only Consumers Energy’s sweat equity in our Kalamazoo Valley Habitat projects, but their financial commitment as well,” Jones said. “Habitat for Humanity enjoys a strong relationship with Consumers Energy across Michigan and this contribution is another example of that bond.”

Consumers Energy and its foundation have provided $800,000 in contributions to Habitat for Humanity of Michigan since 2001. That includes $200,000 from the Consumers Energy Foundation this week to support Habitat for Humanity’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. That effort seeks to increase the number of families living in safe, decent, affordable housing; create additional volunteer opportunities; foster engagement with current and potential sponsors; and develop cooperative relationships within the community.

More than 350 Consumers Energy employees have volunteered this year in company-sponsored Habitat projects across the state, including last month’s work in Kalamazoo. Several company employees also sit on the leadership boards of Habitat affiliates.

In addition, Consumers Energy’s Helping Neighbors program provides energy efficiency upgrades to residents of Habitat legacy homes, including in Kalamazoo County. Measures are installed to increase energy efficiency, including attic insulation, CFL and LED bulbs, and more. Learn more at www.consumershelpingneighbors.com.
Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest utility, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and electricity to 6.6 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity builds, rehabilitates, and repairs homes in Kalamazoo County, the cities of Otsego and Plainwell, and Gun Plain and Otsego townships in partnership with qualified families. Kalamazoo Valley Habitat began in 1983 and is one of more than 1,500 U.S. and 550 international affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International that coordinate Habitat house-building projects in over 3,000 communities around the world.

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HABITAT: Learn more about Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity: www.habitatkalamazoo.org.

Media Contacts: Roger Morgenstern, 616-530-4364, or Dan Bishop, 517-788-2395
For more information about Consumers Energy, go to www.ConsumersEnergy.com

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