The Penny Stocks to Watch

QUEEN CITY, Texas, May 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Edna and Robert Beach have lived comfortably in their Queen City, Texas, home for about 12 years, but recently one room in their house had become a danger zone for Mrs. Beach — the bathroom.

She was fortunate not to have suffered serious injuries when she fell in the bathtub several months ago, but the accident emphasized the need to remodel the bathroom to make it more accessible and safer. What wasn’t clear was how to pay for it.

For the Beaches, the answer came in the form of a grant. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) makes the Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) available through its member financial institutions to assist income-qualified, special needs homeowners with necessary home repairs and modifications. In 2011, FHLB Dallas made .1 million in SNAP funding available to its members, and another .35 million was made available in 2012.

LaCarsha Babers, community development and CRA officer for Peoples State Bank in Many, Louisiana, worked with Mr. and Mrs. Beach to fill out the necessary paperwork and get them approved for a ,000 SNAP grant.

Atlanta, Texas-based plumbing contractor Jason Everett did the work on the bathroom in the Beach home, replacing the bathtub with a large walk-in shower, a water closet, new toilet, lavatory, and a new vanity, but he ran into a big problem during construction.

“When we got in there we discovered that the floor was almost completely gone,” Mr. Everett said. The Beaches didn’t have the funds to pay for the additional repairs, so Mr. Everett donated more than 0 in labor and materials to replace the floor.

“We were happy to be able to help them out,” he said.

Transforming the Beaches 1940s-era bathroom into a modern, handicap accessible room took about a month. “Mr. Everett wanted to make sure that the Beaches had everything they needed,” Mrs. Babers said.

The improvements could not have come at a better time for Mrs. Beach.

“It has been a God-send for us because I had to have knee surgery in December and I had a deep thrombosis in my leg,” she said.

Mrs. Babers said she first learned about the SNAP grant while attending an informational workshop presented by FHLB Dallas and she was immediately interested in working with the program.

“My passion is finding ways to help people who have a need, but who aren’t able to help themselves,” she said. “In the first year of working with the SNAP, we were able to help two families. This year, we were able to help 10 families.”

Many experts say the bathroom is the most dangerous room in a home, particularly for older adults, due largely to the hard and often slippery surfaces which increase the risk of falling. Falls are the leading cause of deaths by injury as well as non-lethal injuries and hospital admissions for adults age 65 and older according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 12 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of .2 billion as of March 31, 2012, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to more than 900 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. For more information, visit the FHLB Dallas website at fhlb.com.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3013

About Peoples State Bank

Peoples State Bank is a community bank established in 1913 with locations in Rapides, Sabine, DeSoto, Natchitoches, and Caddo Parishes in Louisiana as well as the greater Texarkana and Bowie County, Texas area. The bank is committed to meeting the financial needs of its communities through innovative financial solutions such as SNAP. For more information on Peoples State Bank and its services, visit a local branch or go online to PeoplesState.com.

CONTACT: Corporate Communications
         Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
         www.fhlb.com
         (214) 441-8445