Today—Monday, November 23, 2020—marked the beginning of the second national REALTORS Care® Week. REALTORS Care® Week is an annual national week of volunteer service for REALTORS® and a time for the REALTOR® community to raise awareness about important housing and shelter-related issues. This year, the focus of REALTORS Care® Week is on the topic of homelessness. And just like they did in 2019, REALTORS® in Newfoundland and Labrador are getting involved and demonstrating their compassion in a big way.
Across Newfoundland and Labrador, REALTORS® and brokerages are raising money, holding food drives and collecting personal care items to support transition houses and emergency shelters in every part of the province. For example, in the historic international crossroads town of Gander, REALTORS® are working with the local Salvation Army to put together what they call Happiness Hampers—laundry baskets full of mainstays needed to set up a new home, such as household cleaners, a broom and a mop. In Clarenville and in St. John’s, groups of REALTORS® are organizing clothing drives to benefit local shelters and transition houses.
During REALTORS Care® Week, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of REALTORS® is also using the knowledge and connections of REALTORS® across Newfoundland and Labrador to advocate on housing issues. The Association’s government relations committee is working with government officials at both the provincial and municipal levels to introduce new programs and remove regulatory barriers to help new home buyers.
They are also laying the foundation for new, long-term relationships between REALTORS® and groups working to end homelessness. To this end, they will be hosting an awareness webinar for REALTORS® across the province with End Homelessness—St. John’s (EHSJ) on Thursday, November 26, 2020. EHSJ is leading the implementation of the St. John’s Community Plan to End Homelessness. While their focus is on the capital city, what they are doing applies to every community, large and small across Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Giving back and helping those less fortunate is a responsibility so many REALTORS® hold dearly,” says Kimberly French, CREA Regional Director, Atlantic, Chair of CREA’s REALTORS Care® Committee, and Past President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of REALTORS®. “I’m so proud that we are rallying together for REALTORS Care® Week despite the challenges this year and starting meaningful conversations about homelessness that I know will lead to positive change in communities across our province and the entire country.”
