So many REALTORS® from coast-to-coast are committed to volunteering their time and raising funds for the causes and charities close to their hearts. CREA is proud to celebrate the generosity of its REALTOR® members and highlight their inspiring stories with our national REALTORS Care® program. Here is one of those stories.
Every year on the second Thursday of May, REALTORS® from Keller Williams Lifestyles in London, Ontario trade in their dress shoes for work boots and take to the streets for their annual community revitalization initiative.
RED Day, as it’s known, stands for renew, energize and donate. More than 120,000 Keller Williams Realty associates from around the world participate every year. The project has a broad range of focuses and enables the volunteers to target wherever renewal is needed most, such as public parks, gardens and community centres. The Keller Williams Lifestyles team has participated in this global day of service since it was created nine years ago. This year, they decided to show their appreciation to the students and staff of Lord Elgin Public School by renewing school spirit and pride with a special makeover.
“We wanted to bring the school a sense of spirit and make it a place the kids are proud to call theirs,” explains Team Leader Meg Hetherington. “We decided to create a mural in one of the school’s main focal points. We worked with graphic designers and painters to prepare everything in advance. While that was happening, we had volunteers clean up the garden’s trafficked areas. We planted a veggie garden for teaching kids to grow their own food and even constructed an outdoor classroom.”
The Keller Williams Lifestyles team began planning months in advance and started fundraising as soon as the project had been selected. They coordinated with local businesses for supplies and had their marketing team appeal to the general public for volunteers. In total, 120 people participated in this year’s local RED Day efforts.
“Being a real estate professional instills in you a real sense of community. You form relationships with your clients and you get exposed to a variety of issues that you would have never known about otherwise,” said Hetherington. “Lord Elgin is an amazing school and we are so happy to have been able to show our appreciation for everything they do in our community.”
Hetherington and her team have already started planning for next year’s RED Day event.
