The James C. Howland Awards for Urban Enrichment was established in 1989 by CH2M HILL in partnership with the National League of Cities. Named after CH2M HILL co-found er Jim Howand, the awards celebrate U.S. cities that demonstrate excellence in enhancing the environmental and social quality of life for their residents.
The city of Anaheim, California, received the 1997 award for their support of Paint Your Heart Out Anaheim (PYHO), a non-profit that refurbishes homes of the low income, elderly, or disabled Anaheim residents. Jim was scheduled to present the award to the city council in December 1997. However, a winter storm forced Jim to call the Southern California office (SCO) to recruit someone to present the award in his absence. Tom Peters and Don Marske answered the call.
Long story short. Having presented the award, Tom and Don learned what PYHO was about and decided that, in the spirit of Jim’s community service, it would be appropriate for SCO to sponsor a team. As a result, SCO financially supported and assembled a team of 15 to 25 volunteers for the 13 years of 1999 to 2012.
Unfortunately, because of a continuing decline of donations, the PYHO Board voted to shut down as of September 30, 2014. Since its founding in 1990, PYHO painted 1,130 homes, an average of 47 homes per year. For more information about PYHO, check out The Life of Paint Your Heart Out: 1991-2014.