Grandbridge staff fills Children’s Village with functional and fashionable home furnishings—making the place “feel like home.”

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Children’s Village is teaming up with volunteers from Grandbridge Real Estate Capital to give the children’s home a furnishing facelift.  Employees from Grandbridge Real Estate Capital’s Birmingham office will volunteer their time to increase the comfort and functionality level at Children’s Village with new furniture, computers and office/storage solutions—while infusing a little style and flair for the kids and staff.

“The Children’s Village need assistance in providing the boys’ and girls’ homes with functional and comfortable furnishings and office/storage items.  Our volunteers have scoured the city to locate the best deals on quality sofas, computers and computer desks, file cabinets and other much needed items identified by the Children’s Village staff.  Our goal is to create a functional and welcoming home environment for the kids,” explained Grandbridge Senior Vice President Brett Blackwood.

“The folks from Grandbridge have been shopping for furniture for months.  We needed three durable sofas for the boys’ house as well as two-way telephones, a laptop computer, desks, filing cabinets and other office furniture.  We are so grateful that Grandbridge stepped up to the plate and is supplying many of these much needed items for the kids.  Grandbridge volunteers have donated their time and money to us each Christmas for more than a decade.  This donation was above and beyond,” said Sharon D. Bolden, Executive Director at Children’s Village.

Children’s Village and Grandbridge invite other members of the community to join them as they work to fill the needs of Children’s Village.  To volunteer or for more information, contact: The Children’s Village, 2001 18th Street, S.W., Birmingham, AL 35211 or P.O. Box 110501, Birmingham, AL 35211, http://www.childrensvillagebham.com.

“We wanted to work with Children’s Village because of the great work they do in Birmingham,” said Blackwood. “Our employees have supported their efforts for years. We’re proud to team up with them again and help in any way we can.”

As a subsidiary of BB&T, Grandbridge volunteers are taking part in the company’s second annual Lighthouse Project. The teams have each selected a project to assist a non-profit agency to complete during August or September to make a positive impact on the lives of people in need. BB&T hopes their efforts encourage others in the community to volunteer their time and support organizations such as Children’s Village.

Last year, BB&T employees donated nearly 53,000 hours to help improve the lives of 1.6 million people in 25 states. Employees overwhelmingly voted to bring back the initiative this year.  For more information about the Lighthouse Project, go to www.bbt.com/bbt/lighthouseproject.

About Children’s Village
Children’s Village, Inc. is the only basic facility in Jefferson County that can accept male and female siblings, keeping families intact. This is vital to ensuring a stable home life for children who have suffered severed family relationships. At Children’s Village, kids get more than food and shelter.  Children’s Village is a haven where loving care is provided to children who are victims of broken relationships.

About Grandbridge

Charlotte, N.C.-based Grandbridge, a subsidiary of BB&T Corporation, has a broad investor base that includes insurance companies, pension fund advisers, commercial banks and capital markets investors, as well as a proprietary lending platform. The company is a Freddie Mac Program Plus® Seller/Servicer and Targeted Affordable Housing lender and a Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS®) lender. Grandbridge also is a MAP multifamily and LEAN health care approved participant in products insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Grandbridge arranges permanent commercial and multifamily real estate loans; services loan portfolios; and provides asset and portfolio management, as well as real estate brokerage services nationwide. Grandbridge has a servicing portfolio of about $24.5 billion representing nearly 100 capital providers. For more information about Grandbridge and its locations, visit www.gbrecap.com.

About BB&T

BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) is one of the 10th largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with more than $155.1 billion in assets and market capitalization of $18.2 billion, as of June 30, 2010. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., the company operates more than 1,800 financial centers in 12 states and Washington, D.C., and offers a full range of consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage and insurance products and services. A Fortune 500 company, BB&T is consistently recognized for outstanding client satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Greenwich Associates and others. More information about BB&T and its full line of products and services is available at www.BBT.com.

Sharon D. Bolden
Executive Director
Children's Village  
(205) 925-0074

Brett Blackwood
Senior Vice President | Counsel
Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC
(205) 978-1271