Buzz for Project Access

Honeybee Hyatt. Yes, that’s her real name. And anyone who knows the

Newport Coast resident might say she’s as sweet as her name sounds.

Hyatt, 35, quit her job in the corporate marketing and advertising

field after getting married, but she certainly hasn’t stopped

working.

After giving birth to her son Sam nearly two years ago, Hyatt

began volunteering her time to Project Access, a Newport Beach-based

organization that assists residents of low-income housing. Project

Access has 13 sites throughout Southern California.

“This completes me as a person,” Hyatt said. “I had an opening in

my life and I filled it. I wouldn’t know what to do without a

volunteer opportunity.”

Founded in 1999, Project Access contracts with owners and

developers of low-income housing to bring free services -- such as

after-school tutoring and on-site community health fairs -- to the

residents. For more than a year, Hyatt has run PATRONS for Project

Access, an auxiliary that raises awareness, funds and resources. She

realized that networking with people she already knows was a great

way to spread the word about the organization.

The leadership committee of PATRONS (Project Access Tenant

Resources and On-site Neighborhood Support) consists of 12 volunteers

who together have built a mailing list of 400 donors.

Hyatt said Project Access is an easy cause to stand behind.

“Being an advocate comes so easily because you can speak from the

heart,” she said.

“We try to think of it as a holistic approach to helping the

family,” said Hillary Niblo, development director for Project Access

.

Hyatt’s husband, Mark Hyatt, is a real estate developer, and a

portion of his business focuses on building affordable housing.

Honeybee Hyatt became involved with Project Access after meeting

Executive Director Lane Macy at an affordable housing industry event

in 2003.

Hyatt’s idea for PATRONS developed over several months, and the

inaugural event was held in May 2004 at the Hyatts’ home, where they

introduced the concept to their friends by having Project Access

volunteers and employees on hand to share some of the organization’s

success stories.

Niblo said the inaugural event was organized to raise awareness,

but the Hyatts’ friends were so taken with Project Access that they

contributed $5,000.

“They like the idea of directly impacting families,” Honeybee

Hyatt said of her peers. “One story fills your heart up like an

ocean.”

Since that first get-together, PATRONS has brought in more than

$30,000 in funds and resources. Last winter, Honeybee Hyatt and the

other volunteers organized the Holiday Adopt-a-Family program, which

brought in more than $10,000 in cash and $10,000 in gifts, Niblo

said. In April, they held their first fundraising mixer, which

brought in $10,500.

Niblo said Project Access helps teach people how to solve their

problems rather than solving their problems for them.

“People like the idea that Project Access is working toward

systematic change -- we offer a hand up, not a handout,” Niblo said.

Hyatt said she thinks it’s important to recognize the working poor

in Orange County. Affordable rent in Orange County is still $900 to

$1,200 a month, and many of the families work multiple jobs to get

by. She warned of a domino effect: If one thing goes wrong -- if a

family member has health problems and no health insurance or if

someone gets laid off -- it can affect all aspects of a family’s

life.

“There are so many things we take for granted,” Hyatt said.

For more information on Project Access, call (949) 253-6200 or

visit www.project-access.org.

* LINDSAY SANDHAM can be reached at (714) 966-4625 or

[email protected].