Generous Teens Supply One Fifth of Blood in Texas

After more than 15 years with Independent Bank Dallas, financial professional Kevin Griffin of McKinney, TX, has shifted his focus to real estate. Outside of his work with Kevin Griffin Realty, he regularly donates his uncommon-typed blood to Carter BloodCare locations near McKinney, TX .

For more than 50 years, Carter BloodCare has been a leader among Texas blood centers. More than 20 percent of the blood donations that Carter collects comes from local high school students. In Texas, students as young as 16 are permitted to give blood so long as they are healthy, weigh enough, and have their guardian's permission. 

As a thank you for helping to save lives, Carter gives back to students. When they donate blood, young people can participate in the bank's wellness program. This allows them to use blood donations to track health factors online like cholesterol and blood pressure.

Students who give blood four or more times can receive special recognition when they graduate. Qualifying donors receive red honor cords, which they wear over their graduation gowns to show off their accomplishment.

Basic Rules for Solving Sudoku Puzzles

Kevin Griffin of McKinney, TX, serves as president of Kevin Griffin Realty, LLC. When he is not locating and acquiring investment real estate properties throughout the McKinney, TX, region, Kevin Griffin enjoys solving logic puzzles, such as Sudoku.

Sudoku are logic puzzles comprised of a set of numbers placed randomly onto an 81-square grid. The individual spaces are grouped into nine larger boxes, each featuring nine squares. The rules for completing a classic Sudoku puzzle are deceptively simple.

Individuals are tasked with filling each of the 81 squares with a number between one and nine. Each of the nine larger boxes must contain all nine digits with no repeats. Furthermore, numbers cannot repeat in left to right rows or up and down columns across the entire puzzle. Essentially, all nine boxes, rows, and columns must contain the numbers one through nine.

Puzzles begin with a few numbers placed into each of the larger boxes, forcing players to work around these numbers as they fill in the rest of the Sudoku. With these limitations in place, a single erroneous placement can force a player to erase their work and start from scratch. Sudoku range wildly in difficulty, as some can be solved by beginners in a few minutes, while others may perplex experts for hours. There are also various alternatives to the classic Sudoku, such as irregular and diagonal Sudoku puzzles.

Habitat for Humanity Offers Services for Dallas Area Veterans

Dallas, TX-area banking executive Kevin Griffin recently served as a regional president with Independent Bank in McKinney, TX. In addition to his work in McKinney, Kevin Griffin supports the efforts of Habitat for Humanity.

The Dallas Area chapter of Habitat for Humanity sets out to revitalize local neighborhoods and improve access to homeownership for all members of the community. Dallas Habitat also offers a number of specialty housing services for veterans.

Together with Habitat for Humanity International, Dallas Habitat founded VetCorps in 2011 as a way to serve the unique needs of veterans. In addition to helping veterans realize their dreams of owning a home, Dallas Habitat encourages veterans to volunteer in the homebuilding process.

Participants in VetCorps help strengthen neighborhoods, create safer residential spaces, and boost academic performance among students in houses built by Dallas Habitat. Dallas Habitat also provides special peer-to-peer services for veterans who experience difficulty transitioning from military service to civilian life.

To learn more about veteran services at Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, visit dallasareahabitat.org.

Real Estate Market Strong for Sellers in 2016

The former regional president of Independent Bank, Kevin Griffin of McKinney, TX, earned his BBA in finance from the University of Texas at Dallas. Today, Kevin Griffin leverages more than 30 years of experience in banking and lending to market quality real estate properties to the residents of McKinney, TX, area.

Since late 2015, the housing market for 2016 was projected to be a prosperous one for home sellers, a prediction that thus far has rung true. In May, the sale of existing homes nationwide grew nearly 2 percent, representing the highest rate of growth in one month since February of 2007.

The real estate trends helping to shape this positive market outlook include the migration of new millennial parents to suburban areas. While viewed by some as a generation interested in residing in bustling downtown settings, members of this cohort are instead seeking out single-family homes in suburbs equipped with urban amenities, like public transportation, which allows for easy access to cities.

Additional factors benefiting the 2016 real estate landscape include low mortgage rates and the growing popularity of smaller cities, which require an ample amount of new construction to accommodate rapidly growing populations.