Sometimes donations to charity are pooled and distributed to countless recipients whom the donors never meet. Not so with Have A Heart, the nonprofit organization affiliated with the Northern Wasatch Association of REALTORS® (NWAOR) and the Northern Wasatch Chapter of Women’s Council of REALTORS® (WCR) in Utah.
Every year, WCR hosts a 5K run to raise funds benefiting a member of the community struggling with illness. The recipients are related to members of the real estate community such as agents, lenders or title professionals and in 2014, EXIT Realty Success’ Stephanie Dickson’s husband, Juston, a lymphoma patient, was the recipient of the funds raised. “So many loving people showed up to support the race!” said Stephanie. “I had never been involved with any committees before but I knew I wanted to give back and this race was how I wanted to help.”
Stephanie’s involvement with the race has grown to becoming chairperson in 2017 and 2018. This year’s race, dubbed “Chase the Cure” raised funds to benefit 9-year-old Chase Peterson whose mom is a REALTOR® and dad is a builder. Chase (nicknamed Jasper) lives with Batten’s Disease, a fatal disease of the nervous system that typically begins in childhood. “Little Jasper loves animals and is the cutest kid ever! He is losing his vision and still smiles,” said Stephanie. “They need $250,000.00 to get the medicine for the test trial that will hopefully help to prolong his life.”
A portion of every transaction fee collected by EXIT Realty Corp. International is applied to its charitable fund. Through the Spirit of EXIT Dollar-for-Dollar Matching 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 pledged pool of funds. Through raffle ticket sales and runner sponsorships, Stephanie and the team at EXIT Realty Success and EXIT Realty Advantage, raised $4,463.24 which EXIT’s Head Office matched for a total donation to WCR/Have A Heart’s Chase the Cure of $8,926.48.
“Our EXIT agents are incredible and our Broker/Owner, Kevin Kilpatrick, sponsored the tshirts,” said Stephanie. “I am truly honored to be part of this annual 5K and to see how it has grown every year!”
