HREG in the Community: 2020 Giving Impact
We are so grateful to all of you for helping us infuse over $15,000 into the communities that we live, work, and play in, in a year when they needed our support more than ever.
If you are looking for ways to give during this stressful time, we have listed a few of the programs that we had the privilege of working with in 2020.
We Did It for the Kids…
At Hillman Real Estate Group at eXp Realty, we are always on the lookout for opportunities to help out children in and around Wake County. This year, the need was even greater so we joined forces with a Note in the Pocket, Salvation Army of Wake County, Hope Center at Pullen Park, and Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to help those who needed it most.
Note in the Pocket (Wake County): In November, we set the goal high for our Fourth Annual Undies Drive benefitting our friends at Note in the Pocket in Wake County and you all helped us hit it right out of the park. We wanted to donate 4,000 pairs of undies and we were instead able to donate a whopping 5,714 pairs! Read more about this year’s event here.
Note in the Pocket’s mission is to provide clothing to impoverished and homeless schoolchildren in Wake County with dignity and love. They believe that it is unacceptable for children to be limited in their educational and social development because they do not have appropriate clothes for school. Learn more at NoteinthePocket.org.
Guardian ad Litem (Wake County): In December, we participated in the REALTOR® Foundation of Wake County’s Angel Tree Program benefitting Guardian ad Litem. The Wake County Guardian ad Litem Program recruits, trains, and supervises volunteer Guardians ad Litem advocates who serve as court-appointed advocates for abused and neglected children who come to the attention of the Wake County juvenile court system. Learn how you can help at WakeCountyGal.org.
Hope Center at Pullen Park (Wake County): We had the pleasure of being able to help sponsor a community grant for the program the Hope Center at Pullen Park in order to support teens in our community. The Hope Center at Pullen Park connects young people aging out of foster care in Wake County with the resources and support they need for a successful transition to adulthood. If you are interested in getting involved, visit HopeCenteratPullen.org.
Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (Seven-County Coverage): Did you know one in five children in North Carolina is at risk of hunger? BackPack Buddies is designed to provide children from low-income households with 10-12 pounds of nutritious kid-friendly groceries for the weekend when free school lunches and breakfasts are not provided. The Food Shuttle works with each school system and individual schools to identify needs. School officials at each site then identify students to receive BackPack Buddies. We were able to donate 200 backpacks this year! Donate at FoodShuttle.org.
Let’s Talk Housing
“A house is made of bricks and beams. A home is made of hopes and dreams.” – Unknown
CASA (Raleigh): Just before COVID-19 shut down a lot of our in-person charity efforts, we helped furnish a well-equipped apartment for Isaiah, a formerly homeless veteran through the REALTOR® Foundation and CASA, a nonprofit affordable housing developer and property manager combating homelessness in Raleigh. CASA’s mission is to provide access to stable, affordable housing for people who are homeless or at risk by developing and managing rental communities. “The solution to homelessness is housing” and you can help by supporting CASA’s efforts at CASANC.org.
REALTOR® Foundation of Wake County: Once COVID-19 arrived, we didn’t let that slow down our community giving. We continued to do more virtual fundraising for the REALTOR® Foundation of Wake County, which partners with nonprofits to provide stable housing and healthy living services to families in need. Since 2007, they’ve donated over $500,000 towards community outreach initiatives. This year, Renée even went the extra step to secure the Top Producer Council’s charitable contribution! Help them close the gap at RRAR.com.
Families Moving Forward (Durham): Our efforts did not end in Raleigh. We also donated to Families Moving Forward in Durham. In Durham, there are families who need help. Families without a place to live. Families with young children. Families in need. Working together, FMF helps provide families with children a stable, safe, and loving environment while they are in the temporary crisis of homelessness. FMF now offers after-school tutoring, educational enrichment programming, and early interventions to children residing in their shelter as part of a two-generation approach that aims to break the cycle of poverty in our community. Learn more about their efforts at FMFNC.org.
eXp Realty Community Day
Food Bank of Eastern and Central NC: This year was our first time participating in the eXp Realty Community Day in which we collected canned goods from throughout the community for the Food Bank of Eastern and Central NC. The drive was held in October when many charities were hurting as the demand and need for food far surpassed what the food bank could offer. We hope our donations helped make a difference! Donate now at FoodBankCENC.org.
We are so grateful to all of our clients, family, and friends who allowed us to work with and donate to these worthy causes at a time when they needed it most. We look forward to doing even more in 2021.