By Jan Collins, Franchisee, EXIT 1 Stop Realty, Jacksonville, FL
At EXIT 1 Stop Realty, being part of Northeast Florida means more than helping people make their next move. It means showing up for our community, supporting organizations doing meaningful work, and finding ways to make a difference together. That spirit was at the heart of our 5th Annual Harvest for Hope, held on September 18th at Culhane’s Irish Pub & Restaurant. This year, we were proud to bring our agents, Preferred Partners, local businesses, friends, and community members together in support of Arize Together.
Arize Together works to provide support and resources for women impacted by sex trafficking while also helping with prevention efforts. Human trafficking affects women and children throughout Florida and across the country. We selected this organization because of the important work they’re doing within our community. The cause also has a personal connection with EXIT 1 Stop Realty, with one of our own agents actively involved with the organization.
Funds raised through Harvest for Hope help support Arize Together’s work and the needs of those it serves, including resources related to housing, therapy, job training, placement, and other forms of assistance.
EXIT 1 Stop Realty served as the initiator and host of Harvest for Hope, but this event was truly a collaborative effort. Our agents helped spread the word and personally invited their spheres of influence, ensuring we had a packed house. Our Preferred Partners joined us as sponsors, contributing funds to help offset event expenses such as food, drinks, prizes, and party favors. Keeping those sponsorship dollars separate from the charitable funds raised helped ensure that money collected would benefit Arize Together.
It was a family-friendly event that brought out the best in our community, and seeing people of all ages laughing and playing BINGO together made the night even more special. Every person who attended, donated, sponsored, contributed an auction item, played BINGO, purchased a raffle ticket, volunteered, or helped spread the word played a role in making the evening successful.
Through the Spirit of EXIT charitable program, our fundraising efforts were matched up to $3,000. Because of that incredible support, collectively we were able to raise $6,005 for Arize Together.
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.
