CHICAGO – RealEstateRama – For 12 years, the National Association of Realtors® has given Realtors® who have demonstrated a commitment to public service an opportunity to enhance their charitable work through the Volunteering Works Grant and Mentoring Program. The program, which matches mentors with Realtors® who want to expand their community service outreach, is now seeking entries for 2021.
This year’s entry deadline is February 28, 2020. For a Volunteering Works entry form, visit nar.realtor/gna and click on “Nominate.” Applicants must be NAR members.
“NAR is proud to support Realtors® who give back by starting charitable projects,” said NAR President Charlie Oppler, a Realtor® from Franklin Lakes, N.J., and the CEO of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty. “In a year when Realtors® across the country stepped forward to help their communities during the pandemic, it will be especially gratifying to connect volunteers with expert mentors so they can do even more to help and support their neighbors.”
All Realtors® involved in charitable efforts with demonstratable growth potential are encouraged to apply. Five Volunteering Works recipients will earn a year of one-on-one mentoring from a member of NAR’s Good Neighbor Society and a $1,000 grant to put toward improvements in their community program. The society is comprised of past recipients of NAR’s Good Neighbor Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in community service.
Volunteering Works recipients are selected based on their dedication to their charitable project and its opportunity for growth when paired with an expert mentor. Ideal candidates should identify specific challenges they would like to address with the help of a mentor while outlining specific goals for the future of their community service project.
“My mentor, Joy, is an inspiration, and she has filled me with all kinds of ideas,” said 2020 Volunteering Works recipient Janice Overbeck and founder of nonprofit JO Gives. “I’m particularly excited about our newsletter providing more formal updates to our supporters, but Joy has also inspired me to create a video to help explain and promote our mission.”
Overbeck’s mentor was Realtor® and 2018 Good Neighbor Award winner Joy Nelson, founder of nonprofit Joy Ranch in South Dakota. She used the $1,000 grant to support her association’s ‘spay and neuter push,’ during which 2,000 dogs and cats were spayed and neutered in Mexico and Nicaragua over a 12-day period.
Wells Fargo Home Lending sponsors Volunteering Works.
The National Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.4 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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Wells Fargo Home Lending is one of the nation’s leading originators and the leading servicer of residential mortgages, serving consumers online, on the phone and through its national network of bank and mortgage branches. With more than 3,600 Home Mortgage Consultants across the country, expanded digital capabilities, and products and programs for today’s market, Wells Fargo is committed to meeting Realtor® expectations and homebuyer needs. Focused on paving a path to stability and financial success for underserved communities, Wells Fargo is a proud sponsor of Volunteering Works.
Media Contact: Wesley Shaw 202-383-1193
