My father was an entrepreneur his entire working life. He didn’t ever actually tell me that one of the cornerstones of a successful business is giving back to the community, but I learned by watching his consistent involvement in the Lions Club, the local board of trade and later, groups committed to racial and economic equality. So, six years ago when I was ready for a more effective way to blend my business and non-profit lives and began researching real estate franchises, Keller Williams really stood out from the pack.
One of our most visible community projects, RED Day, happens annually on the second Thursday in May. The day is dedicated to Mo Anderson, one of KW’s founders whose unstinting generosity inspired this company-wide event. By spending time “Renewing, Energizing and Donating”, KW agents across the country give back to their local communities. On RED Day 2012, my colleagues and I spent several hours sprucing up the Abraham Lincoln Veterans Center in Charlestown — a community center serving local residents from toddlers to most-revered seniors. It’s located a stone’s throw from our Charlestown Market Center at 18 Main Street.
From cleaning the bathroom and kitchen to putting on a fresh coat of paint in the central activities room, we worked off our collective butt. When the indoor projects were done, I personally tackled a disgustingly overgrown and trash-filled alley beside the building, and quickly attracted the help of two young men who’ve recently joined our team. In under an hour and a half we could actually walk through that creepy passageway without stepping on broken glass and discarded building materials that had been there so long Mother Nature had almost totally reclaimed them.
A job well done, relationships strengthened among us brokers and between our company and the community, and a great deal of fun and laughter — RED Day this year was a blast, and a testimony to Keller Williams’s success the other 364 days of the year!
That's me in the middle, working my fingers to the bone!
