by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
In a time when personal needs and family needs may outweigh anything and the price of everything seems to be going up, the holidays will always be a time of giving.
Whether it’s a little more than usual for the basket at church or a five-spot for the Salvation Army worker tirelessly ringing their bell, people are willing to donate their time and money at extraordinary levels this time of year. Toss in a couple natural disasters, and 2005 may prove to be the most needy season in decades for Americans.
And, one in which the real estate industry stepped up to the plate to make a difference.
One local company has gone out of their way to make sure kids in Slidell, La. have a special Christmas despite losing virtually everything to this fall’s hurricane season. The Keller Williams First Coast Realty agents and the Keller Williams Jacksonville associates have kind of adopted the kids for the holidays, doing everything from raising money to collecting food and clothing. Jared Farnum, a Keller Williams associate from Slidell, attended the office’s holiday party and received an RV donated by a Keller Williams agent.
“In a concerted effort to help its Gulf States market centers recover from Hurricane Katrina, Keller Williams Realty Inc. and its public charity, Keller Williams Realty Cares (KW Cares,) has raised $4.4 million,” said Keller Williams agent Donna Kowalenko. “As of mid-November, individual donations from Keller Williams Realty’s 55,000 associates had reached $3.4 million.
“Additionally, the company’s 500-plus market centers across the United States and Canada had donated $945,000 — earmarking 10 percent of their profits to KW Cares. The amount is not far behind the collective fundraising efforts of the National Association of Realtors, which has raised $5.8 million for hurricane relief.”
Locally, Keller Williams First Coast Realty in Orange Park is an ongoing participant in this national campaign to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
“While the damage caused by this horrific storm has been unimaginable, the response from our agents has been inspiring,” said Kowalenko. “Agents from Keller Williams First Coast Realty have contributed $5,650 directly to KW Cares. This money was added to a pool of funds that was immediately dispersed in the form of $5,000 grants to the effected agents.”
In addition to the fundraising campaign, KW Cares launched a long-term relief program called Heart 2 Heart, which is helping more than 700 Keller Williams Realty associates rebuild their lives and businesses. The adoption program enables volunteer Keller Williams Realty market centers in other regions to assist specific Gulf States associates impacted by Hurricane Katrina. One of those associates is Farnum.
“In an extraordinary act of generosity one of our agents, Ruth Pennell, donated an RV so Jared would have a temporary place to live,” said Kowalenko. “The staff and owners of Keller Williams First Coast Realty purchased a plane ticket which enabled Jared to visit Orange Park, attend the office’s annual holiday party and pick up the RV.”
“I am so proud to be a member of an organization like Keller Williams,” said team leader Jonathan Sullivan. “It is refreshing to work with so many people who are willing to give of their time and resources to help strangers who are in need.”
Local agents and officers are looking into their own neighborhoods and churches and finding needs.
“This will be our third year supporting a local family associated with Prisoners of Christ; our entire office participates,” said Toy Scott of Norville Realty, Inc.
Sometimes, the help comes in the form of a Christmas party, where agents trade secret Santa for a gift for a child.
“The Beaches Council of Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) celebrated the season on Dec. 8, at Selva Marina Country Club. All who attended brought in unwrapped gifts for children of all ages that were donated to Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry (BEAM),” said Debbie Dermody, beaches area manager for NEFAR.
Others got in on hurricane relief, too.
“I am involved with a group of Jacksonville businesses that came together this fall and raised around $4,500 for the recent Hurricane Katrina victims,” said Christian Rambler of Navigator Mortgage, Inc. “We are planning on donating this money directly to the Jacksonville Red Cross in the next week or so.”
One agency simply focused its efforts on three needy families.
“Our office supports families through our volunteer center. I believe we have three families we buy gifts for plus a complete Christmas dinner,” said John T. Ferreira of Century 21. “Everyone both in our real estate division and our insurance division contributes. All the gifts are wrapped and we deliver them to the families.”
The agents at Ponte Vedra Beach Realty chose to fill shoe boxes with gifts for a particular child who otherwise might not have anything this year.
“Each year our office tries to give something back to the community whether it’s choosing a needy family to help, making a charitable donation, etc. This year we chose to individually participate in Operation Christmas Child,” said Kim Davis, owner/broker of Ponte Vedra Beach Realty. “It is not mandatory, but voluntarily. It’s where you take an ordinary shoe box and fill it with toys, necessities, other presents, and maybe even an extraordinary gift for a child.
“These little ones could be broken from natural disasters, extreme poverty, refugees, etc. You then drop it off at the collection center or mail it directly to the center. The premise is caring people sharing with hurting little girls and boys. Upon receiving all the shoe boxes, they (the shoe boxes) are then distributed at a special Christmas program to the millions of children around the world.”
The folks at ERA Dan Jones focused their efforts on the city’s homeless.
“One thing we started a couple of years ago for an office charity is that we invite all of our associates, staff and guests to bring items for the homeless at our annual company Christmas open house,” said Gene Jones, president of ERA Dan Jones & Associates. “Did you know that we have in our great city some 2,200 men, women and children that are homeless on any given day? Not only do we give necessary items but many give cash donations. This year we gave to Trinity Rescue Mission. We also had lots of good home-cooked food left over from our party we were able to give.”