Larken Associates Volunteers Bring Hope and Housing to Guatemala
Recent trip is the real estate firm’s fifth volunteer mission to the nation
A five-person team from Larken Associates, a regional leader in real estate building, development and management, recently returned from a volunteer mission in Guatemala, continuing the company’s partnership with From Houses to Homes, a local organization dedicated to providing sustainable housing, education and healthcare to impoverished indigenous families.
Guatemala remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with 55% of its population living in poverty as of 2023. Indigenous communities making up 40% of the country’s population, sadly face an 80% poverty rate. For many of these families, "home" is little more than a fragile shelter made of cornstalks or corrugated metal, often with dirt floors.
Established by New Jersey resident Joe Collins in 2004, From Houses to Homes aims to break the cycle of poverty in the nation. Over the last 18 years, the organization and its volunteers have erected nearly 2,070 homes and established the Escuela Kemna'oj, a pre-K through 9th-grade school serving 175 children, many of whom come from families with parents lacking basic education.
Larken Associates President and CEO David Gardner has personally made over 15 trips to Guatemala with From Houses to Homes and welcomed Larken Associates team members to join him in 2019. Since then, the company has sent over 20 team members to volunteer in the nation’s highlands region. Each year, the company also sponsors the education of two children at the Escuela Kemna’oj and conducts a donation drive for clothing, children's toys and books that volunteer team members distribute while in the country.
The centerpiece of Larken Associates' 2024 trip was a five-day home construction project in El Ardo, Sumpango, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala. In addition to building a home, the company also handed out donations from Larken Associates’ employees in Branchburg, NJ.
“Our team is deeply committed to building strong communities, both locally and globally, through our support of organizations like From Houses to Homes,” said Gardner. “It’s an honor to continue to support their invaluable work to transform the lives of families in need.”
It’s easy to take the comfort and security of a home for granted. I’m honored to support From Houses to Homes’ efforts to bring the dream of a home to life for thousands of families in Guatemala.
To learn more about From Houses to Homes and how you can make a donation or help, please visit their website at https://www.FromHousestoHomes.org.
About Larken Associates
Larken Associates is a regional leader in commercial and residential real estate building, development and management. Leveraging over 50 years of experience, they are dedicated to bringing great spaces to live and work to life through a long-term ownership strategy and full suite of in-house capabilities. With a diverse commercial portfolio consisting of nearly three million square feet and 800 tenants across office, industrial, retail and mixed-use and approximately 2,000 owned and/or managed residential rental units across 22 unique communities, Larken Associates is deeply committed to the communities in which they work as well as the tenants and residents who call their buildings home. To learn more about Larken Associates, please visit us at https://www.LarkenAssociates.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
