For Immediate Release  October 23, 2006 Contact: Dan Gage (Walsh) at 315-423-5657 Karen Schroeder (SNI / Home HQ) at 315-474-1939 ext. 249 Kemper Matt (Dupli Envelopes & Graphics) at 315-234-7219              DUPLI ENVELOPE & GRAPHICS TO OFFER EMPLOYER-ASSISTED HOUSING IN CITY THROUGH SNI             (Syracuse, New York)- Congressman Jim Walsh today announced that Dupli Envelope & Graphics will immediately begin offering an employer-assisted housing benefit to company employees interested in purchasing a home in the City of Syracuse.  Under the program, Dupli will award grants of $1,000 per employee for the purpose of helping achieve home ownership in the City of Syracuse.  In addition, the Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative (SNI) will match the $1,000 Dupli grant dollar for dollar.  The $2,000 total home ownership grant may be used for down payment costs, closing costs, home inspection fees, title insurance, and attorney's fees (for both home buyer and bank) in conjunction with the purchase of an eligible home. "With this announcement, Dupli Envelope & Graphics joins a growing list of local companies who are making a substantial investment in their employees and our community," said Walsh.  "By providing this assistance to its employees, Dupli is supporting home ownership, encouraging investment in city neighborhoods, and strengthening our community's urban core." "Dupli Envelope & Graphics is proud to become a full Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative partner," said Kemper Matt, President and CEO of Dupli Envelope & Graphics.  "Programs like employer-assisted housing make sense--they’re good for the employee, the employer and benefit the whole community." All full-time Dupli Envelope & Graphics employees who have been employed at Dupli for at least one year - regardless of income - are eligible to participate in the program.  Dupli employs 120 individuals, most of whom are full-time employees. The purchased home must be a single-or two-family home or townhouse located within the city that will be used as the employee's primary residence.  In addition to the $2,000 Dupli / SNI financial package, participating employees are also eligible to benefit from a host of other products and programs including other purchase incentives offered through Home HeadQuarters, Inc., the private, local not-for-profit housing agency selected to administer the program on behalf of Dupli. Other SNI-supported employer-assisted housing programs available in Syracuse and similar to Dupli’s include programs at St. Joseph's Hospital and Health Center, Rural/Metro Medical Services of Central New York, Le Moyne College, and Syracuse University.  Local employers interested in adding an Employer Assisted Housing Program to their benefits packages should contact Home HeadQuarters at (315) 474-1929 x249 or via email at info@homehq.org. To date, Walsh has secured just under $48 million in federal funding for programming in Syracuse neighborhoods.  That money has been supplemented by over $5 million in local funds and in-kind services leveraged by a private-sector effort currently led by National Grid executive Marilyn Higgins, SNI Chair. The Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative is a public/private collaboration created in 1999 in response to an urgent challenge issued by Congressman Walsh to revitalize distressed neighborhoods in Syracuse.  The effort seeks to match federal resources with private, local contributions.  At the direction of the City of Syracuse and Mayor Driscoll, the effort works in concert with existing community organizations to expand available housing resources, coordinate existing programs, and increase their overall effectiveness. END   (####)         Home | Press List