Boston Properties supports YouthBuild USA programs because they help fill the need for low cost housing while simultaneously providing training in the construction trades to disadvantaged young people.

(Inset) FelCor's cooks dish up a tasty treat! (Picture left to right) Sheree Bashford, FelCor's President and CEO Tom Corcoran, Jack Eslick and Barbara Lacy. Proceeds from the sale of FelCor's cookbooks go to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Valuable Lessons One of the more innovative philanthropic programs is Crescent Real Estate Equities' Faces of Change® program. The program is a three-year partnership among the children and families of a local elementary school, the tenants and employees of a Crescent property and the neighboring community. Crescent, an office REIT headquartered in Fort Worth, TX, helps employees and tenants donate time and supplies to assist schools that have a significant number of at risk children. They tutor and mentor children, host holiday parties for young people in the office buildings, provide computer services and help raise funds. More than 25 successful business-to-school partnerships have been established in this nationwide project, impacting thousands of families and helping to make the local communities stronger.