The Orillia Lighthouse Soup Kitchen and Shelter is teaming up with local realtors to help reach their $14.5-million fundraising goal for the new Lighthouse shelter and community hub on Queen Street.
Faris Team Real Estate Brokerage recently partnered with the Lighthouse and the Building Hope Campaign by pledging $50,000. Then, they challenged other realtors to step up and do the same.
“They decided to put out a challenge to see if we could get other local realtors to pledge or to give in order to reach our goal of $100,000 before April 1,” said Lynn Thomas, Lighthouse development coordinator.
Thomas says if all local relators made a similar donation, the Building Hope Campaign would be able to close in on the $800,000 remaining to be raised through their campaign.
“If all of that sector would come together and have their name on the project and raise the red on our thermometer and get this done, then we would be really thankful for that,” Thomas said.
Thomas says she is hopeful that realtors will consider giving back to the community during a time when the local housing market is booming, which makes it even harder for those experiencing homelessness to get off the streets.
“Especially in this market they are seeing incredible increases in house sale prices, they are regularly going way above list price, so we are asking them to take a little bit of that and give it to the Building Hope campaign,” she said.
Already, many local realtors are getting involved. Jack Latimer of Re/Max Orillia Realty has donated almost $25,000, and Kaleb Streeter of Streeter Team Real Estate has pledged $5,000.
“It’s been really great, I think if they all come together we can meet our goal pretty quickly,” Thomas said.
Mark Faris, CEO and broker of Faris Team Real Estate Brokerage, says his team chose the Lighthouse as their partner charity because of the direct impact it makes on the community.
“Anybody at any point could need the help of the Lighthouse and sometimes it’s not just a short-term thing, and it’s going on right in the heart of Orillia,” he said.
Faris says the relator challenge gave his team a chance to give back to the community they serve.
“Loving on our clients and our community is something we really stand for, so this is an opportunity to really express that,” he said.
Working with the competition to better the community is a sign of unity and a testament to what the Orillia community is all about, Faris says.
“I really believe that the realtor community is an enhancer of the community. I think there are a lot of really good realtors here who are good people and love this community,” he said.
“It’s easy to think that realtors are at war with each other, but we don’t think that way. We work alongside each other to work for our clients and our community, so this challenge was a win-win that allowed us to make a direct impact in our community.”
Faris says he is thankful for all the local realtors who have stepped up to help the Lighthouse with the realtor challenge.
