Sanna Lee, a sales representative with EXIT Realty Springside in Woodbury, Minnesota, is passionate about giving back to her community and wanted to leverage the Spirit of EXIT Dollar-for-Dollar Matching Program to double her impact. Between April 1st and 15th, 2018, Sanna raised funds for “Building Future Leaders”, an initiative of Lee Sisters Foundation, a charity she co-founded with her sister, Satu. Through Building Future Leaders, high-potential students throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul are involved in the work of the charity, equipping them with the right skills and talents to flourish after graduation. Students are challenged to think of innovative solutions to the problems that Lee Sisters Foundation works to address, problems faced by humans all around the globe (alleviating hunger, gender inequality and improving economic stability of families).
Sanna created an email campaign to build awareness and to share the fundraiser with her friends, family and acquaintances. She also mobilized her community to organize a Kenyan-themed dinner party, where a variety of Kenyan cuisine was served. At the dinner, Sanna addressed the attendees on the positive impact of creating responsible, compassionate future leaders. Jay Louricas and Morgan Dammann, both students and Building Future Leaders program alumni, spoke about the lessons they’ve learned and the challenges they’ve faced through being part of the program.
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. The fundraising efforts benefiting Building Future Leaders were a success, bringing in a total of $4,217.47 which was matched by EXIT for a total donation of $8434.94 to Lee Sisters Foundation. This money will go towards involving more students and youth in the Building Future Leaders program.
