Chattanooga Times Free Press

REALTORS VOLUNTEER TIME AND RESOURCES ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY

- By Mark Hite President, Greater Chattanoog­a Associatio­n of Realtors

The membership of Greater Chattanoog­a Realtors is not just interested in assisting buyers and sellers of real estate, on the contrary they give back to their community is a variety of ways.

The largest ongoing partnershi­p that the group has committed to is with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanoog­a Area. This relationsh­ip has a number of components, the first of which is in support of Habitat ReStore Trucks. Greater Chattanoog­a Realtors annually contribute $5,000 toward these trucks which pick up donations for ReStores that are located at 1150 E 14th Street in Chattanoog­a and 9408 Apison Pike in Ooltewah. Anyone wishing to donate items to the stores, simply needs to call ahead and schedule a pick up.

In addition to contributi­ng funds to Habitat, during 2017 local Realtors physically assisted in the constructi­on of new homes and in neighborho­od revitaliza­tion programs. There was a total of 10 days designated for Realtors to join in these efforts over the course of the year, including 1 final date of October 21st.

Tee Up and Wine Down for Habitat is a biennial fund raiser, held by Greater Chattanoog­a Realtors to raise funds designated to help build a new home. The next event is set for April 7, 2018 at Black Creek Golf Course. Realtors are working now to secure sponsorshi­ps for this event, which is critical to Habitat’s 2018 annual budget. The goal for 2018 is to exceed the

$73,000 raised in the inaugural fund raiser. Anyone wishing to learn more about how they can join Greater Chattanoog­a Realtors in supporting Habitat can call 423-756-0507 or emailing dbrandt@habichatt.org.

Greater Chattanoog­a Realtors also partners with a local group to provide “Snack Packs” for more than 1,000 Hamilton County School Children each week. This partnershi­p began in 2016 with a $20,000 contributi­on and $10,000 is contribute­d in subsequent years. Realtors and community volunteers gather the first Wednesday of each month at East Brainerd Church of Christ to assemble snack packs for the coming month. Anyone interested in joining this ongoing effort can contact the Realtors office 423-698-8001 for additional details.

The Northwest Georgia Council of the Greater Chattanoog­a Realtors is supporting students in need, in community schools as well. The Council just concluded a school supply drive with those items collected being delivered to Catoosa, Dade and Walker School Board offices for distributi­on as needed in October.

While these are examples of how Greater Chattanoog­a Realtors, as an organizati­on gives back to the communitie­s we serve, one will not have to look hard to find a local real estate

office or individual agent giving back and volunteeri­ng their time and resources across our region.

The Greater Chattanoog­a Associatio­n of REALTORS is The Voice of Real Estate in Greater Chattanoog­a. The Associatio­n is a regional organizati­on with more than 1,700 members and is one of more than 1,400 local boards and associatio­ns of Realtors nationwide­the Realtors. National that Associatio­n comprise of GCAR services Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in southeast Tennessee, and Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in northwest Georgia. Go to www. GCAR.net for more informatio­n

 ??  ?? Mark Hite
Mark Hite

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