DEEMED A "HUGE SUCCESS" CRANFORD, N.J., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wayne Village, a Home Properties (NYSE:HME) apartment community located in Wayne, NJ, recently held a pet supply drive to benefit the Wayne Animal Shelter. It was, according to Property Manager Silvia Velasco, a "huge success." "We'd held community events in the past, but we wanted to do something different," Velasco said. "We wanted to do something that everyone could help with." And help they did - despite this being the very first Wayne Village pet supply drive, the amount of food, treats, blankets and other supplies donated was extraordinary. In fact - despite there being only 275 apartments in the community - it is estimated that they took in about $2,000' worth of pet supplies and accessories. "We received so much that we couldn't fit it all in one office - we had to move it to a bigger storage area," Velasco said. Due to the trying economic situation, local pet shelters had become crowded and supplies were running low, so this pet supply drive was well needed. "With money tight and with the cost of pet food increasing dramatically, families can't afford to take care of pets, so the pets end up in the shelter. Some people are forced to move into apartments that aren't pet-friendly as well, so those pets end up in the shelter, too," Velasco explained. Since Wayne Village has pet-friendly apartments (see http://www.waynevillagenj.com/), it is only natural that the residents would be so willing to help out this worthy cause. Thanks to the kind donations from the residents of Wayne Village, some of the stress caused by the overcrowding has been alleviated. "We are at full capacity right now," said one person at the animal shelter," so these donations have been very helpful." The animals like the donations too. "You should see the kittens playing with their new toys," the animal shelter employee said. Indeed, the residents were very helpful and extremely happy with the event. The results were so great, in fact, that Wayne Village is considering doing more pet supply drives in the future. "Because the residents were so generous," Velasco said, "we may make this an annual event." Home Properties is a publicly traded apartment real estate investment trust that owns, operates, develops, acquires and rehabilitates apartment communities primarily in select Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Florida markets. Currently, Home Properties operates 109 communities containing 37,539 apartment units. Of these, 36,389 units in 107 communities are owned directly by the Company; 868 units are partially owned and managed by the Company as general partner, and 282 units are managed for other owners. For more information, visit Home Properties' Web site at http://www.homeproperties.com/. DATASOURCE: Home Properties CONTACT: Charis W. Warshof, Vice President, Investor Relations, +1-585-295-4237 Web Site: http://www.homeproperties.com/

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