Some Good News for a Change.

Home for a Home.

I received some very good news this week, at a time when any good news was truly welcome.

For the past several years, I have been a member of a non-profit organization called Home For A Home (www.homeforahome.org).  Home for a Home is comprised of a group of incredible and compassionate Realtors who want to make a difference in people's lives by building simple homes for families in need in the country of Guatemala.  These homes include a main living room, a bathroom with a shower and flushing toilet, a water filter system and high efficient wood burning stove.

They are simple, yet solid homes, and provide a HUGE improvement in the living conditions of these hard working people.  In addition to the home, the families also receive follow-up training from home maintenance and sanitation to financial budgeting.

Each home that is built is self funded by an individual Realtor through either direct donations, or by dedicating part of their sales commission of each transaction to the organization.  Once the construction cost threshold is met, they are able to start construction of the home for the family that is chosen.

Since I joined the program in 2017, I have happily donated a portion of my commission from each home sale to fund the construction of one of these homes, and I was absolutely thrilled to find out this week that we completed the construction of our very first home!   Here's a picture of the Velasquez-Ortiz family in front of their new home:

Before this home was constructed, this hard working family of 5 was living in a shack that consisted of dirt floor, 4 wooden walls, and a piece of tarp to keep out some of the cold and rain.  Now they have a clean home with concrete floors, a watertight metal roof, and doors that lock.

In addition to coordinating the construction of the homes, Home for a Home also provides each Realtor with a bio of the recipient family so that there is indeed a face and a story behind the name.  I was incredibly touched to read the story of the Velasquez Ortiz family, and so thrilled that I could pay forward to make a difference in their lives.

How Can You Help?

I am so excited to be part of of this organization, and I will continue to contribute a portion of every home sale that I close to build another home for a family in need.  So if you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell a home, send them my way and we can do some great things together!  If you'd like to donate directly to the cause, you can certainly do so by clicking here.  Home for a Home a certified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so your donations should be tax-deductible.

I also want to take a moment to thank all of my clients who worked with me over the past two years to enable me to fund our first home. This would not have been possible without each of us working together.  When I see this picture below, it makes me even motivated than ever to get the next home built as soon as possible!!!