To All Friends of Century,
This year is the 25th anniversary of Century Housing’s incorporation as a nonprofit. Century’s predecessor, The Century Freeway Housing Program, a state agency created to replenish the homes and apartments destroyed by the construction of the Century Freeway, was to disband in 1995 after having successfully completed its mission.
The remaining cash assets of the agency (approximately $140 million) were to be returned to the General Fund in Sacramento. Instead, under the guidance of Judge Pregerson, the state agency was converted to Century Housing Corporation to ensure that these assets would be used to provide for affordable housing in perpetuity. As a result of the Judge’s foresight, Century has cumulatively invested more than $2 billion in the creation and preservation of approximately 45,000 affordable homes throughout California.
In normal times, such stellar achievements would call for a spectacular gala event. These are not normal times. Instead, Century is celebrating our 25 years of service with two $25,000 donations paying tribute to our legacy charter school programs: Century Community Charter School (CCCS) and Century Academy for Excellence (CAFE).
Century established and funded the creation of these two middle schools in 2004 and 2012, respectively, and administered each of them for a number of years until each was spun off as a separate nonprofit organization. Both schools are located in Inglewood and serve low income, minority communities: CCCS has 451 students and 86% are Hispanic, 11% are Black, and 85% qualify for free lunch. CAFE has 150 students and 95% are Black, 5% are Hispanic, and 100% qualify for free lunch.
Since we will not have a gala booklet for this anniversary, I encourage you to view the remainder of this online presentation, including the timeline on this page and the 25 Year Report PDF, as a reminder of Century’s remarkable past.
Thank you for helping us continue our mission,
Ron Griffith
President and CEO, Century Housing