By Kellie Bowling, Franchisee of EXIT Realty Shoals, Tuscumbia, AL
EXIT Realty Shoals strongly believes in serving others. We love being able to give back, and especially when it helps those we know and love. We are so very grateful for EXIT Realty Corp. International’s Spirit of EXIT Charitable Program and their help in matching funds for causes that are so important to us.
The Kruzn for a Kure Foundation is near and dear to our hearts because it was founded by one of our agents, Jessica Davenport. Her children, Kruz and Paizlee, suffer from a rare and fatal form of dwarfism called Schimke Immuno Osseous Dysplasia (SIOD). In order to save their children, Jessica and her husband, Kyle, had to find a way to get research started and keep it going to find a cure and/or drug therapy for this disease. Through their foundation, Kruzn for a Kure, they have been working to raise money for research since Kruz and Paizlee were diagnosed.
There was a 1 in 80,000,000 chance that Jessica and Kyle would meet, marry each other, and produce siblings with SIOD. At diagnosis, Kruz was one of five children in the world with SIOD. Due to how rare SIOD is, they have not been able to gain access to any large philanthropic funding. Over the $3 million mark of at least $6 million the Davenports were told it would take to make a difference, researchers are now in the drug therapy development stage. With the advancement comes added costs and the need for more doctors. KFK funded Phase 1 of Drug Therapy in 2022. On top of the $360,000 per year ($30,000 per month) that the foundation has to send for research, Phase 2 of Drug Therapy this year required an additional $350,000. It’s hard to imagine the weight of the world on these parents as they know their children’s lives and those of others with SIOD depend on them and their community raising this money. We are very thankful for the opportunity to help anyway we can.
EXIT Realty Shoals recently had our third annual Christmas Tree Giveaway fundraiser to raise money for SIOD Research. This year we made some additions and called our fundraiser Kruzn into Christmas. In addition to the tree giveaway, we also had food trucks, outdoor inflatables, crafts with Buddy the Elf, and pictures with Santa. Not only were EXIT Realty Shoals associates out selling tickets for the tree giveaway, but they were also a huge part of the success on the day of the event. They worked at different stations and some even dressed up like elves. Our associates had as much fun as the kids did!
Through our Christmas Tree Giveaway, our office was able to raise $3,519 which included tree giveaway tickets/donations in the amount of $2,976 and Santa tickets/pictures in the amount of $543. EXIT Realty Corp. International’s Spirit of EXIT Dollar for Dollar Matching Program had agreed to match funds up to $3,500. With the matching funds, that brought us to a grand total of $7,019 to go to Kruzn for a Kure Foundation. We deeply appreciate the hard work of all our EXIT associates to sell as many tickets as possible, and especially the time they took to be at the event and work a station. We are already thinking about next year and how we can make this event bigger and better!
Kruz and Paizlee are our local heroes, and they exhibit such joy and inspiration for others. Our community loves these two more than they will ever know. There was joy all over their faces as they came in and saw Buddy the Elf and Santa. This year was more special than ever, knowing Kruz suffered a stroke this summer. It was great to see his spunky self back with his big, bright smile. Research has continued to progress, and we can’t wait to see drug therapy soon and hopefully a cure in the near future.
A portion of every transaction fee received by EXIT Realty Corp. International is applied to its charitable fund. Through the Spirit of EXIT Charitable Program, EXIT offices and associates can raise money for local, approved, registered charities and apply to EXIT’s head office to have those funds matched from the company’s pool of funds.
Read more about the Davenports in People Magazine.
