Communities across the U.S. and Canada will see a further bump in support as the funds pledged by EXIT Realty Corp. International to support local charities reach $6 million. This announcement was made recently by the company’s Founder and Chairman, Steve Morris, during an awards event broadcast across North America.
A portion of every transaction fee received 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.
In this year of “business as unusual”, charitable organizations have had to pivot. For example, many children rely on school lunch programs every day and when schools were closed at the beginning of the stay-at-home order, communities scrambled to find alternatives. In Horry County, South Carolina, several school employees helping to prepare free, drive-through lunches to meet this need tested positive for COVID-19, so the program was closed.
Help 4 Kids was the organization driving this initiative. Help 4 Kids began in 2004 when, with help from teachers and school administrators to identify children in need, they distributed 300 backpacks filled with nutritious, child friendly, self-serve food. Today, this organization serves more than 3,000 food packs per week to the children of Horry County. The program closure due to the pandemic put an additional strain on Help 4 Kids as they were unable to hold their traditional fundraisers.
Enter EXIT Coastal Real Estate Pros. Broker/Owner, MaryAnne Dorio and her team of real estate professionals, were determined to support the good work of Help 4 Kids and they reached out to the Spirit of EXIT Program for help. Dorio and her team sounded a call-to-action to their past and present clients and the community at large to raise funds with a goal of $5,000 in mind which EXIT Realty Corp. International was proud to match. In fact, they exceeded their expectations resulting in a total donation to Help 4 Kids of $10,606.01.
“Nothing you do for children is ever wasted; it makes a difference in their lives,” said Barb Mains, Director of Help 4 Kids. “We are grateful to EXIT Realty for the fundraiser. This will help us feed a lot of children.”
Over the years, EXIT Realty Corp. International’s charitable pledges have supported home builds with Habitat for Humanity as well as the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity’s disaster relief efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Florence, Michael and Irma, and tropical storm Harvey among other initiatives, but the true heart of the organization is found in the grassroots efforts of REALTORS® raising money where they live and work. “From the company’s first home build with Habitat for Humanity in 2004 until today, thousands of lives have been positively impacted by the tireless work of our sales professionals in the communities they serve,” said Tami Bonnell, CEO, EXIT Realty Corp. International. “It is a privilege for us to support them in their efforts to give back.”
