Charity & Community News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 17, 2010

STORAGE SOLUTIONS BECOMES a GREENspot

Stores are now free e-waste drop-off and recycling collection locations.

LOS ANGELES, California (March 17, 2010) – Storage Solutions has joined the GREENspot DROPoff network of free and convenient e-waste recycling DROPoff locations. Now there are more convenient places where people can drop off e-waste for proper recycling in California.

"We are so excited to be part of the GREENspot DROPoff network. Going GREEN has been a strong initiative for Storage Solutions and we are proud to be able to offer the public our self storage facilities as free places to recycle their e-waste,” said Jae Ho, Operations Manager.

GREENspot DROPoff's unique approach to e-waste recycling not only benefits the environment, but also the local communities that it services. With the goal to minimize the amount of e-waste that is disposed of improperly, GREENspot DROPoff has created a myriad of programs to tailor fit the different e-waste needs of the community.

1. DROPoff locations – GREENspot DROPoff has a network of free and convenient DROPoff locations throughout the State of California where people can walk in and DROPoff their e-waste at their convenience. Storage Solutions' self-storage facilities are some of the places people can dispose of their e-waste for free.
2. PICKup program – For a nominal fee, GREENspot DROPoff will arrange to PICKup e-waste at local businesses and office buildings.
3. GREEN2 Fundraising– GREENspot DROPoff partners with schools to educate the community about the importance of e-waste, and donates $1 to local schools for every eligible piece of e-waste recycled at a DROPoff location.

For more information about GREENspot DROPoff and to find out where your DROPoff location is, please visit http://www.greenspotdropoff.org/.

About Storage Solutions:

Storage Solutions is a growing leader in the self-storage industry, offering consumers and businesses a variety of self-storage space and supplies at 19 convenient store locations in Southern California. Storage Solutions is the self-storage division of Union Development Company. UDC has been developing real estate in Southern California for over 100 years. The firm holds more than 1.7 million square feet of property in its portfolio including retail shopping centers, industrial parks, and self-storage facilities and R.V. and boat storage facilities that are branded under the Storage Solutions name. Both company are based in Cerritos, California, and co-owned in a joint venture by BPG and New York-based Angelo, Gordon & Co., a leading investment management firm specializing in non-traditional assets. For more information, visit http://www.storagesolutionsca.com/.

Media Contacts:

Anthony Morrow, Storage Solutions; Tel: 562.467.1324; E-mail: AMorrow@UnionDevelopment.com

Deena Wachtel, GREENspot DROPoff; Tel: 800.350.3550; E-mail: deena@greenspotdropoff.org

 

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San Diego Self Storage Helps Activist Collect Bikes for African Children

03/12/2010 - San Diego Self Storage (SDSS) is contributing to a bicycle drive in March to help athlete and activist Emmanuel Yeboah fill a shipping container with used bicycles and sporting equipment for the children of Ghana, Africa, Yeboah's birthplace.

Donations of used bikes and sporting goods can be made at the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA in Encinitas, Calif., every Saturday and Sunday in March. SDSS will provide storage space at Encinitas Self Storage to store the bikes and equipment prior to loading the shipping container, and supply a truck for transporting the bikes to the storage facility.

"We were incredibly moved by Emmanuel's inspirational story and his desire to provide the children of Ghana with bikes,” said Steve Teixeira, SDSS director of property management.

Yeboah was born in 1977 with a severely deformed right leg. In 2001, he rode 400 miles on a bicycle donated by the Challenged Athletes Foundation across Ghana to heighten awareness for fellow countrymen with disabilities. In 2002, while visiting San Diego, physicians performed surgery and fitted him with a prosthetic leg.

Yeboah's story has been memorialized in the award-winning documentary, "Emmanuel's Gift,” narrated by Oprah Winfrey. To donate a bike, call 858.776.6813. To learn more about the Challenged Athletes Foundation and Yeboah's quest to build schools in Ghana, visit www.challengedathletes.org.

Founded in 1972, San Diego Self Storage is one of the largest locally owned and operated self-storage providers in San Diego County with a network of 15 neighborhood self-storage facilities and additional facilities in Los Angles and Orange County.

A-1 Self Storage in San Diego, CA joins with Serving Hands International to distribute tarps to prepare for winter storms in Tijuana, Baja CA, Mexico.

San Diego, CA– February 26, 2010– A-1 Self Storage, the premier provider of self storage in San Diego County, today announced their support towards needy families in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico and have partnered with Serving Hands International to distribute over 1,000 tarps to help them prepare for winter storms in remote areas where most homes aren't built to withstand storm conditions. Many of these homes were poorly built, often times with recycled or scrap materials.

"A1 Self Storage is proud to support this program. We understand the difficulties these families face with current economic conditions, combined with the poor infrastructure in our neighboring city, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.” said Brian Caster, President and CEO of Caster Companies. "We feel it is important to support our neighbors south of the U.S. border and these tarps are much needed to help them protect their homes.”

Over 1,000 tarps were distributed by Serving Hands International, a public, non-profit, tax exempt organization under 501(c)(3) of the International Revenue Code (EIN 95-3797996). A-1 Self Storage is a proud supporter of Serving Hands International and has partnered with them on numerous other projects. For more information about Serving Hands International, please visit http://www.servinghands.com/

For more information about A-1 Self Storage locations, please visit:

http://www.a1storage.com/self_storage/San_Diego_Region/a-1_self_storage

About A-1 Self Storage:

A-1 Self Storage is one of the leading providers of self storage in San Diego with 17 locations in the greater San Diego area and over 40 locations across California. A-1 is the Self Storage division of the Caster Companies, a third generation family-owned company headquartered in Southern California since 1959. The Caster Companies specializes in acquisitions, development and management of A-1 Self Storage, and other commercial properties in California. Its Real Estate Portfolio includes over 4 million square feet in real estate properties. It is one of California's fastest growing companies.

CONTACTS:

Maria Frausto

A-1 Self Storage

(619) 287-8873 x 115

mfrausto@castergrp.com

http://www.a1storage.com/

Los Angeles, CA December 10, 2009 – Santa Monica-based The William Warren Group and its own unique brand of StorQuest Self Storage surprised the employees at its annual company meeting by hosting a non-traditional charity event to support One Warm Coat. "As a company with a unique corporate culture, The William Warren Group is always looking for creative ways to give back to the community,” states President Bill Hobin.

Sixty-five StorQuest employees set out to complete one objective: support One Warm Coat by collecting coats off the streets of Los Angeles from as many people as possible.

All company managers and corporate staff were divided into four teams and designated various regions throughout the Los Angeles community. Each team was provided with collection boxes, event flyers and coat drive signage. To encourage public participation, StorQuest offered an unprecedented 2 months free off self storage for donating a coat that day.

Each team took extreme measures including cheering at soccer games, riding subway lines, hopping on city busses, singing Christmas carols or whatever it took to encourage someone to give a coat. The teams collected over 200 coats literally off the backs of those walking around the streets of LA. "It gave us goosebumps to witness the generosity exhibited by the community. We never envisioned that through our efforts we would collect so many coats on our first day,” says Michelle Bakva, Marketing Director.

Through December, StorQuest is utilizing its 45 self storage facilities as designated One Warm Coat drop off locations to collect unwanted coats for those in need during the winter months. At the end of December, all coats will be donated to homeless shelters within StorQuest's local communities, including the L.A. Mission, Martha's Kitchen, Bay Area Rescue Mission, Pomona Youth, Colorado Youth at Risk and the Central Arizona Shelter. View live footage of the StorQuest team efforts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FgenMBPyd8.

At select locations, StorQuest will be offering 1 month free off of a storage unit simply by donating a coat. For more information on the StorQuest Coat Drive or to find a StorQuest location near you please call us (800) 900-4644 or visit us at storquest.com.

About One Warm Coat: One Warm Coat is a simple, easy way to help those in need within local communities. The Company provides tools and resources to help volunteers in the collection of clean, reusable coats for donation to individuals. One Warm Coat strives to develop volunteerism in all of us.For information visit www.onewarmcoat.org.

About StorQuest Self Storage: StorQuest is the operating brand name of storage facilities developed and operated by The William Warren Group, Inc. StorQuest provides temporary or long-term storage for personal or business needs. The company offers clean and secure units at affordable rates. StorQuest also provides a full line of packing supplies and maintains 45 locations in the United States. For more information about StorQuest – contact us at (800) 900-4644 or visit www.storquest.com.

Contact:

Michelle Bakva

Marketing Director

StorQuest Self Storage

P. 424.214.2195

mbakva@williamwarren.com

http://www.storquest.com/

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - December 10, 2009) - Santa Monica-based The William Warren Group and its own unique brand of StorQuest Self Storage surprised the employees at its annual company meeting by hosting a non-traditional charity event to support One Warm Coat. "As a company with a unique corporate culture, The William Warren Group is always looking for creative ways to give back to the community," states President Bill Hobin.

Sixty-five StorQuest employees set out to complete one objective: support One Warm Coat by collecting coats off the streets of Los Angeles from as many people as possible.

All company managers and corporate staff were divided into four teams and designated various regions throughout the Los Angeles community. Each team was provided with collection boxes, event flyers and coat drive signage. To encourage public participation, StorQuest offered an unprecedented 2 months free off self storage for donating a coat that day.

Each team took extreme measures including cheering at soccer games, riding subway lines, hopping on city busses, singing Christmas carols or whatever it took to encourage someone to give a coat. The teams collected over 200 coats literally off the backs of those walking around the streets of LA. "It gave us goose bumps to witness the generosity exhibited by the community. We never envisioned that through our efforts we would collect so many coats on our first day," says Michelle Bakva, Marketing Director.

Through December, StorQuest is utilizing its 45 self storage facilities as designated One Warm Coat drop off locations to collect unwanted coats for those in need during the winter months. At the end of December, all coats will be donated to homeless shelters within StorQuest's local communities, including the L.A. Mission, Martha's Kitchen, Bay Area Rescue Mission, Pomona Youth, Colorado Youth at Risk and the Central Arizona Shelter. View live footage of the StorQuest team efforts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FgenMBPyd8.

At select locations, StorQuest will be offering 1 month free off of a storage unit simply by donating a coat. For more information on the StorQuest Coat Drive or to find a StorQuest location near you please call us (800) 900-4644 or visit us at storquest.com.

About One Warm Coat: One Warm Coat is a simple, easy way to help those in need within local communities. The Company provides tools and resources to help volunteers in the collection of clean, reusable coats for donation to individuals. One Warm Coat strives to develop volunteerism in all of us. For information visit http://www.onewarmcoat.org/.

About StorQuest Self Storage: StorQuest is the operating brand name of storage facilities developed and operated by The William Warren Group, Inc. StorQuest provides temporary or long-term storage for personal or business needs. The company offers clean and secure units at affordable rates. StorQuest also provides a full line of packing supplies and maintains 45 locations in the United States. For more information about StorQuest -- contact us at (800) 900-4644 or visit http://www.storquest.com/.

Contact:

Michelle Bakva
Marketing Director
StorQuest Self Storage
P. 424.214.2195
Email Contact
http://www.storquest.com/

Ten A-1 Self Storage facilities in California will serve as donation drop-off sites for Operation Homefront's Southern California chapter. The organization provides emergency assistance and morale to U.S. troops and their families.

A-1 Self Storage also donated storage units to store collected items until they can be distributed to military families. Operation Homefront provides aid to families struggling with both emergencies and the problems of everyday life. Drop-off locations are for small items only, such as non-perishable food, backpacks, diapers and holiday items. Due to availability of space, no furniture or large items will be accepted.

A-1 Self Storage has 17 locations in the greater San Diego area and more than 40 locations across California. A-1 Self Storage is part of the Caster Cos., a third-generation family-owned company headquartered in Southern California since 1959.