
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 4, 1990                   TAG: 9006040130
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: DEBBIE MESSINA THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT AND THE LEDGER-STAR
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE (AP)                                LENGTH: Medium

HOMELESS AID IS COMPANIES' NEW BUSINESS

Money: It's what all the non-profit organizations that help the poor and the homeless need the worst but eludes them the most.

And who knows better about making money than businessmen?

That's why a group of businessmen is putting together a fund-raising program they call "There's No Place Like Home" to generate money for homeless causes.

"It's free enterprise's response to a serious and growing problem," said David M. DuRovy, who is leading the effort.

The concept is to persuade individuals to use affinity cards, or credit cards issued by corporations that donate a percentage of the card-holder's purchase to a specific charity.

The card-holders, according to the group's draft brochure, will be "casting their vote as to how and where these companies spend some of their profits."

The program will not rely on government support or individual donations. "It will be a self-sustaining project, not a charity project," said DuRovy, of DeAngelo Commercial Properties Inc. in Chesapeake.

Such a program could provide that much-needed influx of dollars in a time when government funding is shrinking, he added.

DuRovy hopes that by leaving the fund raising to the people in the business of making money, participating agencies will be free to spend their time doing what they do best: helping the homeless get off the streets.

DuRovy said the program would center on three affinity cards, offered by a long-distance telephone service, a gasoline company, and a local bank offering Visa and MasterCard credit cards.

The board for "There's No Place Like Home" is developing strategies for marketing the cards and for distributing the funds.

DuRovy expects to collect $20,000 to $50,000 a month through the program. While the money would be divvied among Hampton Roads organizations to begin with, DuRovy hopes ultimately to take the program statewide, then nationally.

by CNB