May 24th - 2017

Supporters of charities, shelters honoured

Charity work by Ontario Realtors was the focus of a slate of awards presented recently by the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation.

Supporters of charities, shelters honoured

Charity work by Ontario Realtors was the focus of a slate of awards presented recently by the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation.

Supporters of charities, shelters honouredMembers of the public do not always realize the amount of support that REALTORS® give to charities across Ontario.

The time and effort given by Realtors to shelter-based charities in their local communities was the focus of a slate of awards presented recently. The Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation recognized various individuals during the annual conference of the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), held at Toronto’s Sheraton Centre hotel.

Realtors play a key role in supporting shelters for the homeless and disadvantaged in communities across the province. This is a natural fit, since real estate professionals are in the business of helping people find homes.

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At a luncheon ceremony at the March conference, Ettore Cardarelli, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association, and Barb Whitney, president of the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation for 2016, presented various awards to deserving Realtors.

Spirit Awards recognize both individuals and groups. “The Spirit Awards recognize the significant contribution of individuals, boards and associations or organizations to the success of the Ontario Realtors Care® Foundation and/or to the advancement of its goal to assist our members in supporting shelter-related charities in the communities,” said Whitney.

“This year’s outstanding recipients have supported the foundation in promotion, fundraising activities, their dedication in giving to shelter-related causes in Ontario and exemplary dedication to advancing the foundation’s mission.”

Four individual awards and two collective Spirit awards were given out. Individual recipients of the Spirit awards were: Sue Fowler of the Huron Perth Association of REALTORS®: Bruce Johnson of the Thunder Bay Real Estate Board; Vince Mirabelli of the Thunder Bay Real Estate Board; and Tina Roy of the Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS®.

"Each of these individuals support the foundation
in their own way.”

“Each of these individuals support the foundation in their own way,” said Whitney, “either by giving their time, effort, significant promotion or financial donations -- all of which contribute to the success of the foundation.”

In addition, two Spirit awards were presented in the board/association/organization category. Firstly, the Sarnia Lambton Real Estate Board has “contributed to the Every REALTOR® Campaign since its inception in 2008,” said Whitney. (Through this initiative, participating real estate boards collect $1 a month per member, with funds going to the foundation.) “They are big promoters of the purpose and significance of the foundation, and big supporters of giving back in the community.”

Secondly, the Ottawa Citizen/Postmedia “has been a sponsor of the [Ottawa] board’s golf tournament for a decade now. They provide sponsorship each year and have raised close to $50,000 for the foundation. They continue to support shelters and efforts to address homelessness throughout the community.”

In addition, 16 people were named Foundation Fellows for their volunteer efforts and financial contributions to the foundation. Foundation Fellows “represent the heart and soul of the real estate profession”. The 16-newly named individuals join the 282 individuals who have been honoured as Foundation Fellows since the program’s inception in 2001. The recipients were recognized for “leadership, volunteerism and support for their communities” and for their generous contributions of a minimum of $1,000 to the foundation. “Congratulations to all of our new Fellows,” said Whitney.

New Foundation Fellows are: Kim Alvarez, REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington; Patrick Dummitt, Niagara Association of REALTORS®; Paul Etherington, Toronto Real Estate Board; Stacey Evoy, London St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®; Luigi Favaro, OREA staff member; Charlotte Forget, The Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board; Mike Heffernan, Peterborough and the Kawarthas Association of REALTORS® Inc.; Norm Langlois, Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS®; Vince Mirabelli, Thunder Bay Real Estate Board; Sandra O’Donohue, Durham Region Association of REALTORS®; Adam Rayner, Kingston and Area Real Estate Association; Bruce Shipley, Barrie & District Association of REALTORS®; Irene Smit, North Bay Real Estate Board; Lorne L. Smith (in memoriam), Peterborough and the Kawarthas Association of REALTORS® Inc.; Mike Taylor, The Lakelands Association of REALTORS® - Muskoka Haliburton Orillia; and Jeff Van de Vorst of the Guelph & District Association of REALTORS®.

"The focus of the foundation’s efforts are shelters
and shelter-based charities.”

The focus of the foundation’s efforts are shelters and shelter-based charities. Some of the foundation’s recipient charities are: Habitat for Humanity, big Brothers and Big Sisters organizations across Ontario, Collingwood Crisis Centre, YWCA Sudbury, Covenant House Toronto, Couchiching Jubilee House, Domestic Abuse Services Oxford, Community Living Mississauga, the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Ottawa and the Regional Hospice of Quinte. These are just a few of the charities across Ontario that benefit from the efforts of Realtors.

For more details about the foundation, visit https://realtorscareontario.ca.

Photo caption: FOUNDATION AWARDS: Barb Whitney, 2016 president of the Ontario REALTORS Care® Foundation, and Ettore Cardarelli, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association, presented a slate of awards to deserving REALTORS®.

Story by Mary Ann Gratton

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Ontario Real Estate Association

Jean-Adrien Delicano

Manager, Media Relations

JeanAdrienD@orea.com

416-445-9910 ext. 246

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