Keller Williams Realty raises $5.3 M for Katrina survivors
Company’s charitable foundation surpasses original goal
AUSTIN, TEXAS (Jan. 24, 2006) — In a concerted effort to help its Gulf States market centers recover from Hurricane Katrina, Keller Williams Realty Inc. and its public charity, Keller Williams Realty Cares (KW Cares) has raised $5.3 Million.
The amount is not far behind the collective fundraising efforts of the National Association of REALTORS®, which has raised $5.8 million for hurricane relief.
Keller Williams Realty Vice Chairman Mo Anderson says Keller Williams Realty’s giving culture has enabled the real estate franchise operation to “respond meaningfully” to its associates in need. As of the end of the year, donations from Keller Williams Realty’s 57,000-plus associates and the company’s 500-plus market centers across the United States and Canada – earmarking 10 percent of their profits to KW Cares, had totaled $5.3 Million.
“We are making history in real estate with KW Cares, which has been supporting our associates in times of extreme hardship since 2003,” Anderson says. “At Keller Williams Realty, we believe you have to give to get, and we were determined to surpass our goal of raising $5 million for our Gulf States associates.”
In addition to the fundraising campaign, KW Cares launched a long-term relief program called Heart 2 Heart, which is helping more than 700 Keller Williams Realty associates rebuild their lives and businesses. The adoption program enables volunteer Keller Williams Realty market centers in other regions to assist specific Gulf States associates impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
Susan Spencer, owner of the Keller Williams Advantage Olney/Rockville Market Center in Maryland, says her family is limiting their gift-giving this holiday season and spending the difference on a Gulf States Keller Williams Realty family that she and another Maryland market center adopted through the Heart 2 Heart program. Spencer, who joined Keller Williams Realty as a prospective owner this past May, says the company’s teamwork-oriented culture attracted her to Keller Williams Realty.
“You don’t particularly find that in real estate; it’s typically every man and woman for themselves,” Spencer says. “But at Keller Williams, it’s about people helping people – and that applies both professionally and personally.”
Keller Williams Realty associate Patricia Peyton of Metairie, La., knows firsthand the impact of KW Cares’ Heart 2 Heart program. After losing everything to Katrina, Peyton’s adoptive market center in California – together with some Keller Williams Realty associates in North Carolina – rallied to personally deliver new furniture, equipment and appliances for her home and office, as well as an SUV.
“To know that you have a company like this behind you is so comforting,” Peyton says. “What I really think is so beautiful is how everybody in this company came together. When we call it family, it really is a family. Agents from all over the country really stood behind us. You could really feel the caring. That’s why they call it KW Cares.”
