By Mikaela Rojas, Broker/Owner of EXIT Realty Preferred Triangle in Raleigh, NC
In September of 2023, we discovered that Raleigh Dream Center does a lot to serve the poor and broken in our community and was taking on the very difficult and expensive initiative of opening the first ever ‘Emergency Safe Home’ in our county for victims of sex trafficking sometime in 2024. Since there are no safe homes in NC currently, we thought it would be the perfect endeavor to get behind to help raise funds for such a worthy cause!
At the event, we had a wonderful dessert bar catered by Ruby Deans Cuisines, adult beverages for purchase provided by a local family-owned winery, a magician named Magic By David that entertained the children, and our final entertainment of the evening was the Comedian Mick McKenna. During our intermission, we had a silent auction that we were able to get several local small businesses to donate towards.
It was really amazing to me to see people in the community step up and help with the fundraiser in different ways as each person had a talent. For example, we had someone paint a beautiful picture of a flower that was donated to the Silent Auction. The fundraiser itself even took place in an old building that was rehabbed a few years ago and turned into a working space specifically for non-profits.
Probably the highlight of the evening was watching an all-girls salsa dance team called LaLuz Dance do two separate performances before each entertainer. They completely volunteered their time and were all dressed in pink to support our Valentines Campaign.
Just before the event ended, I spoke for about 10 minutes on the realities of human trafficking in our world, and in our local community, and how everyone can play a role in combatting and reducing it. We are so grateful for the opportunity to have put on this fundraiser and bless our local community.
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. Mikaela and her team raised $2,100, which EXIT’s head office was proud to match, for a total donation of $4,200 to the Raleigh Dream Center.
“We know that our efforts are only possible because of the contributions we receive from generous donors like you, and we thank you again for believing in and supporting our mission,” said Candace Porras, Administration Director, Raleigh Dream Center.
