When it comes to giving, REALTORS are among Greater Vancouver’s most generous donors. A variety of charities, outreach groups and law enforcement agencies across the Lower Mainland benefit from their time, energy and hard work.
Sun
When it comes to giving, REALTORS are among Greater Vancouver’s most generous donors. A variety of charities, outreach groups and law enforcement agencies across the Lower Mainland benefit from their time, energy and hard work.
REALTORS care about our communities. Many live in the very neighbourhoods they rely on to make their living, so it makes sense for REALTORS to participate in local fundraising efforts, as well as regional initiatives that incorporate REALTORS across the Lower Mainland. The largest of these are the Realty Watch program, the REALTORS Care Blanket Drive and the REALTORS Care Endowment Funds for Oncology and Genetics.
In June 2006, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver officially launched the Realty Watch program in our jurisdiction. Together, members of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board are assisting law enforcement agencies from Hope to Whistler to Tsawwassen and everywhere in between.
Realty Watch is a unique community crime prevention partnership. Because REALTORS are constantly on the road and in neighbourhoods during the day and night, they can act as the “eyes and ears” for police. Realty Watch allows police to notify REALTORS about missing persons and abducted children. Within 15 minutes after a police request, a message or “fan-out” can be sent to every REALTOR in the Lower Mainland. That’s more than 12,000 REALTORS. Realty Watch can also target REALTORS in individual communities.
Realtywatch works. In May 2006, Langley RCMP issued an urgent press release to the media and activated a Realty Watch fan-out to all Fraser Valley REALTORS’ cellphones, Blackberries and PDAs about a special needs girl who had been missing for nearly two days. A REALTOR received the text message while with a friend, who knew the missing girl. While the two women were reading the message together, the missing girl phoned. After the police were notified, the girl was returned to her foster family.
REALTORS participate annually in the REALTORS Care Blanket Drive to help many of our neediest residents every winter. This year saw the twelfth incarnation of the event, which collected more than 3,300 bags of blankets, coats, clothing and other necessities, one of the highest number of donations ever received. This worthy endeavour is organized and run by volunteer REALTORS from each geographical region in the Lower Mainland. Items were delivered to local shelters and agencies, including Covenant House Vancouver, the Downtown Eastside Women’s Shelter, the Salvation Army and the Friends in Need Food Bank.
REALTORS organize charity golf tournaments and gala evenings throughout the year that raise thousands of dollars for a number of local charities like the B.C. Children’s Hospital. The REALTORS Care Endowment Funds for Oncology and Genetics are just one example of real estate professionals’ ongoing commitment to community involvement. The endowment funds were created as part of a long-term commitment towards funding critical research and treatment of children’s cancer. To date, almost $400,000 has been fundraised by REALTORS and given to this cause. You can help support this charitable initiative by making a direct donation to B.C. Children’s Hospital, indicating your donation preference to either the REALTORS Care Endowment Fund for Oncology or the REALTORS Care Endowment Fund for Genetics.
For more information on REALTORS Care programs and the REALTORS Care awards, please visit www.realtorscare.org.
For more information about Realty Watch, please visit www.realtywatch.org.
(Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver)
© The Vancouver Sun 2007