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Easley Realtors Help Company Find Unique Way to Support Community

Despite a troubled economy this past year, one Upstate real estate company found a unique way to continue giving to the communities it serves – which came to a value of about $142,000* of support for Upstate non-profit organizations.

The initiative, which was implemented by Coldwell Banker Caine employees and sales associates, involved a commitment from every person in the company to volunteer 75 hours of time to community organizations of choice. The 75-hour figure was selected because the company celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2008.

The end result netted local charities 8,950 volunteer hours from the company – which is the equivalent of working 24 hours a day for an entire year.

“When times get tough, it forces creativity,” says Brad Halter, President of Coldwell Banker Caine. “Our company has always supported the community in a variety of ways since it began in 1933. But, like most other companies this past year, a slower economy decreased the direct financial support we could provide to the community.”

When this occurred, Halter and his team challenged themselves to think beyond the norm and find non-traditional giving options. That’s when the concept of a company wide, year-long volunteer-a-thon was born. Coldwell Banker Caine’s employees and sales associates kicked the initiative off at its annual awards banquet in January 2008 where attendees signed a commitment to the 75-hour individual goals.

And, while not all of the company’s participants were able to attain that goal, others like sales associates Steve Gardner and Heather Parlier of Coldwell Banker Caine’s Easley office exceeded it.

“I volunteer because I’m able to; it feels good putting others’ needs ahead of my own,” Gardner says. “It’s the right thing to do. If everyone gave just a couple of hours a week of their time to helping others, imagine what good could be accomplished.”

Gardner volunteers regularly with Marathon Community Church’s Clothes Closet/Food Pantry, Angel Tree, Shine Soup Kitchen, and The Blood Connection. He performs tasks such as sorting and organizing clothes with the Clothes Closet to helping to provide Christmas gifts to underprivileged children through Angel Tree. He also helps prepare, cook and serve dinner at the Soup Kitchen, and donates platelets once every two weeks through The Blood Connection. He has volunteered for these organizations for more than two years, except for the Soup Kitchen, where he began his volunteer work 6 months ago.

In addition, Gardner also has begun a web site – realtorworksforfood.com—in which he donates 10 percent of any commission to local organizations that are helping to fight hunger in the Upstate.

“Giving time to help others is just as important as giving money, and often times more rewarding,” Gardner says. He states that one of his most rewarding volunteer experiences was when some of the older boys from The Boys Home of the South said a simple, but heartfelt, thank you when they picked up gifts from the Angel Tree to take back to the others boys in the home. “When someone is grateful like that – and you can see it in their eyes – it makes you want to do more,” he says.

Parlier, who volunteers with Potter’s Clay Fellowship, agrees.

“When you can reach people through what you’re doing, it’s very rewarding,” she says.

Parlier volunteers the majority of her time with the church’s youth. She is a member of the Youth Leadership, Media, and Drama teams. She also participates in the Street Ministry that serves meals to the low income or homeless. She has volunteered for more than 4 years with the church.

“I love children and teens and want to reach them,” Parlier says. Among her most rewarding volunteer experiences is the Good News Club, which allows volunteers to go to local elementary schools to teach Christianity. Parlier says that close to 50 students attend the weekly meeting at Crosswell Elementary School where they teach Bible lessons. “To be able to provide a Christian influence to children is highly rewarding,” she says. “”God has put love in my heart to do that.”

Coldwell Banker Caine consists of five residential Upstate offices with 200 full-time sales associates serving Greenville, Spartanburg, Oconee, and Pickens counties. The company is ranked in the Top 2 Percent of all Coldwell Banker’s 1,232 firms internationally.

* Monetary value is based upon $15.86/hour for S.C. volunteer from independentsector.org.

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