The National Association of Realtors^® joined forces last year with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to enrich the lives of Club kids and teens in communities across the U.S.

Since December 2015, a total of 188 local Clubs and 18,200 Club youth have been positively impacted by Realtors^® and more than $100,000 has been donated to local Clubs by associations, members and real estate firms.

"Today's kids are our future, so when I began my NAR presidential term, I knew I wanted to involve Boys & Girls Club. I am so proud of all the passion, time and effort put forward by the Realtor® family to better the lives of the children in the communities in which we live and work," said NAR President Tom Salomone, broker-owner of Real Estate II, Inc. in Coral Springs, Florida. "Realtors^® work every day to build and improve communities, so it comes as no surprise to me that our members jumped at the opportunity to get involved with their local Boys & Girls Club and volunteer their time and energy to support Club kids."   

Every local Boys & Girls Club has specific needs, so Realtor® associations and members worked with their local Clubs to determine the most effective way to volunteer and fundraise. Realtors® held holiday parties, organized fundraisers, collected winter coats, arranged reading and homework parties, as well as hosted career days where kids and teens learned about working in real estate and participated in mock interviews to help them prepare for the future.

On the national level, NAR staff participated in a company-wide backpack drive where school supplies and 485 backpacks were collected for local Clubs in Chicago and Washington, D.C. NAR staff in Chicago also distributed backpacks stuffed with school supplies to kids at a summer carnival for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago and Union League Boys & Girls Clubs, sponsored in part by the Chicago Association of Realtors^®.

Employees at realtor.com®, the official website of NAR, also joined the effort, supporting five different Boys & Girls Clubs across the county and in Canada. Collectively the company donated more than 1,500 school supply items – more than one item per employee. SentriLock, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of NAR, was also inspired by NAR's back-to-school drive; their staff donated 41 backpacks for Cincinnati-area kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Westchester/Liberty filled with grade-level specific school supplies. SentriLock also continues ongoing fundraising efforts and staff volunteer days with this local Club.

NAR worked with BGCA to create a co-branded website, www.realtor.org/BGCA, as a resource for associations, firms, members and consumers. The site includes a Club locator, a toolkit to initiate involvement with Clubs, and success stories and photos from associations and Realtors®.

For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America  has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,200 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at Facebook and Twitter.

The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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Local Update:  The Boys & Girls Club of Central New Mexico is a Signature Charity of the Realtor® Fund of The Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors^®. In addition to providing grants through the REALTOR® Fund, GAAR also supported the Boys & Girls Club through threir Blue Door Ball fundraiser. Click here to learn more about how you can help provide at-risk children, between the ages of 5 and 18, with a safe place to learn and grow.