3/26/2019

Contact:
Kim Walker, 704-940-3149
Kim McMillan, 704-940-3177
#RCD2019

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – As spring returns to the Charlotte market, more than 300 Realtors® will assume the roles of community volunteers, landscapers and handymen for Realtors® Care Day (RCD) on Friday, April 5. The all-day annual project, which happens during National Fair Housing Month, is an initiative of the Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association’s Housing Opportunity Foundation and includes replacing siding; painting the interior of four apartments; deck, porch and gutter repairs; and clean-up of a local park and community center.  Realtors® will begin at 8 a.m. and will conclude by 5 p.m.

Since 2009, Realtors® have spread out across the region to assist non-profits and help deserving homeowners, many of whom are elderly or disabled. To date the Housing Opportunity Foundation’s annual RCD project has helped 257 homeowners and non-profit organizations and has had a financial impact exceeding $1 million.

“This event continues to have a tremendous impact on maintaining and sustaining affordable housing within our community, giving  our Realtor® volunteers an opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of our neighbors, many of whom are on fixed incomes in older homes,” said Brenda Hayden, president of the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association and Carolina Multiple Listing Services, Inc.

Hayden adds that a number of volunteers will have the honor of working with Habitat for Humanity Charlotte, Our Towns Habitat for Humanity and Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity on new build projects in the Matthews and Statesville road area. Habitat’s new build projects are a much needed component of affordable housing and provide future families with safe, affordable, healthy and stable housing.

The 2019 RCD project will deploy agents to 14 sites in both Mecklenburg and Iredell counties. The annual project also includes work on four community sites, Serenity House of Mooresville, where volunteers will work on exterior and interior painting; Harvest Center of Charlotte - West Campus, where volunteers will prep a community garden site, modify a playground/park and paint the interior of four housing units; and Pine Valley, where volunteers will launch Mecklenburg County Park & Rec’s revitalization efforts with clean-up of the neighborhood park.  Realtor® volunteers at the Pine Valley site will also clean-up and restore an aging community center that was used to host after-school tutoring and recreation for children. A team of volunteers will also work with Hinds’ Feet Farm, an organization dedicated to serving persons living with brain injury. Volunteers at that site will be cleaning up construction debris and building a lean-to, in order to relocate a feed bin for therapy horses.

“It’s quite humbling to be able to help our neighbors in this way every year,” said RCD Chairman Ed Baesel. “It’s even more amazing that year after year hundreds of people, not just Realtors®, set aside this day to take off the business suits and answer the call of service to our neighbors. We could not do this project without professional assistance from our strong network of partners, developers, contractors and home inspectors.”

Working hand-in-hand with a number of community partners, the Foundation is pleased to welcome a new partner, Niagara Bottling company, and continue its nearly 11 year collaboration with the City of Charlotte Housing and Neighborhood Services, Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity Charlotte, Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation,  Our Towns Habitat for Humanity and the Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition (REBIC).

MEDIA COVERAGE OPPORTUNITIES: Friday, April 5 (9:30 a.m.-noon)

Charlotte Regional Realtor^® Association and Housing Opportunity Foundation leaders, nonprofit partners and Realtor^® volunteers will be available for media interviews during the designated time period at the following media sites:

• Harvest Center of Charlotte – West, 5415 Airport Dr. Charlotte, NC 28273
  Realtor® volunteers will prep and clear out community garden beds to prepare for planting, clean-up, landscaping and mulch at Nobles & Burnette Playground, a playground dedicated to fallen Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Officers Andy Nobles and John Burnette. They will also paint the interior of a World War II barrack that was renovated into an apartment building, which the Harvest Center plans to use to provide transitional housing for the homeless.
  
  
• Serenity House of Mooresville, 110 Centre Church Rd., Mooresville, NC 28117
  Realtor® volunteers will be replacing gutters, doing miscellaneous painting (including concrete flooring, garage door and posts that frame Serenity House’s signage) and landscaping.
  
  
• Pine Valley Community Center, 1700 Long Leaf Dr. Charlotte NC 28210, Pine Valley Park, 2422 Longleaf Dr.
  Realtor® volunteers will remove soiled carpet, lay tile, patch walls, and paint the interior of a recreation center that residents plan to use for afterschool play and tutoring of children in the community. Volunteers will also clear out debris and trash in the open park area to prepare for Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation revitalization efforts, which include adding walking trails.

RCD values the continued support of local businesses and organizations including the support and financial logistics management of Lowe’s Home Improvement.  Lowe’s has supported Realtors^® Care Day by developing a process for the organization, as well as handling management and delivery of materials to all sites within the two-county area. Lowe’s staff shows extraordinary support throughout the day in meeting the project needs until all sites have been completed.

About the Housing Opportunity Foundation

The Housing Opportunity Foundation is the charitable arm of the Charlotte Regional Realtor^® Association.  The foundation’s vision is a community where all housing needs are met.  The foundation serves to create housing opportunities through advocacy, education, funding and leadership. 

For more information on Realtors^® Care Day 2019, visit www.RealtorsCareDay.com.

Original Publish Date: 3/27/2019