BRACEBRIDGE, ON – The Lakelands Association of Realtors is set to donate $19,000 and is looking for charities to apply for grants.
The Lakelands consists of realtors in Parry Sound, Muskoka, Haliburton and Orillia. They have a long tradition of supporting shelter-based organizations in the communities they serve.
The association is accepting grant applications until Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. To raise awareness and ensure each year different organizations benefit, The Lakelands is reaching out to our community to spread the word.
Wendy Webb is the President of the Lakelands and stresses that her membership is keen to give back to the communities they work in.
“Our members are keen to contribute to their communities. Our Ontario Realtors Care Foundation (ORCF) is a meaningful way to engage with, and support, residents,” said Webb. “We believe that realtors’ roles extend far beyond just buying and selling.”
Their recent generosity and $5,000 donation to support area flood relief efforts this spring captured the attention of their provincial counterpart the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), the ORCF, and CREA (the Canadian Real Estate Association), bringing the total donations to the Muskoka and Minden areas to $20,000 ($16,000 to Muskoka Victim Services and $4,000 to the Minden Food Bank).
Each member of the Ontario Realtors Care Foundation (ORCF) donates monthly and those amounts are divided across an area to help support shelter-based charities.
The contributions are very important to these communities. Many local brokerages support causes in their own specific communities on top of these monthly contributions.
Last year’s grant recipients from the Lakelands Association were:
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The Burk’s Fall District Food Bank ($3,000).
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The Alzheimer Society ($3,000) and Cottage Dreams in Haliburton ($1,500). Cottage dreams supports families touched by cancer, providing an opportunity for them to reconnect and rejuvenate at a private, donated cottage.
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The Child Advocacy Centre of Simcoe/Muskoka ($1,500), a child-friendly centre in which multidisciplinary professionals provide services to children and youth who have experienced abuse.
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Couchiching Jubilee House ($1,500), an organization committed to empowering women to improve their quality of life through a program of individualized support and transitional housing.
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West Muskoka Food Bank ($3,000)
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Esprit Place Family Resource Centre ($3,000) is a ten-bed emergency shelter for women and children, serving the District of Parry Sound since 1986. They provide safe and secure residential accommodation twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
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Baysville Winter Pantry ($1,500) provides food support services during the winter months for people who live in the Baysville and Dorset areas.
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Muskoka Women’s Advocacy Group ($1,500) operates two, 24-hour anti-violence crisis shelters for abused women and their children. Muskoka Interval House is located in Bracebridge, Ontario and Chrysalis in Huntsville, Ontario. Chrysalis also offers supportive transitional housing units for vulnerable women.
For further details about the grant application, visit: https://realtorscareontario.