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Real estate agents know all too well how many things get left behind during a move—dressers, extra mugs, framed artwork, lawn tools, you name it—but it takes a special vision and dedication to understand how to repurpose those discarded items to deeply benefit someone who is getting a fresh start in life.
Scott Matthias, a broker associate with Madison & Co. Properties in Greenwood Village, Colo., fits the bill. In addition to being a longtime industry leader at the local, state and national level, Matthias today co-manages the nonprofit Knock Knock Angels Colorado with Barrett Miller, owner of Checkmate Moving & Storage in Littleton, Colo. The group provides home makeovers—with “great reveals” of fully furnished and decorated homes—for nearly 70 persons per year, including veterans and single mothers who are transitioning from unstable living conditions into apartments or single-family homes.
It's a charitable initiative that has changed his life and the lives of hundreds of veterans and volunteers in his community.
NAR Friendships Open the Door
“I’ve always had that volunteer giving spirit. My parents instilled that in me,” says Matthias.
“He is the most giving person. He has so much energy, and he gives of his time, of his money, of his resources. He is just go, go, go, And he is an absolute joy to work with,” Miller says.
Matthias’s “aha” moment came during a general session of the National Association of REALTORS® virtual conference in 2020. During the session, he was one of 13 members being sworn in as 2021 regional vice presidents. Immediately following the swearing-in ceremony, Vickie Lobo, founder of the original Knock Knock Angels program in California, was announced as a 2020 Good Neighbor Award winner. Her story as a cancer survivor and local volunteer organizer was the inspiration he needed, at just the right time.
It felt fateful: The COVID-19 pandemic had stopped international travel, forcing Matthias and several colleagues, including Miller, to put another volunteer program on pause.
“For 22 years, I took teams of 30 or 40 people to Juarez, Mexico, to build two houses a year, as well as churches and schools. But it all stopped when the border closed,” Matthias says.
“I always say, when God closes one door, he opens up another one.” His wife, Lori, wholeheartedly agreed it was the right opportunity at the right time. He called Lobo the next day to congratulate her—and get the details on how to start his own program.
Lobo was overjoyed to help. “She said, ‘Well, Scott, it's been my dream and my vision to take Knock Knock Angels across the country,’ Matthias says. “It’s a natural for [NAR members] because we deal with homes and moving clients every day.”
Matthias and Miller launched the Colorado program in memory of their fathers, both veterans who passed away during the pandemic.
‘You Get by Giving’
Knock Knock Angels Colorado coordinates with social workers and counselors from local housing agencies and other charitable programs to find individuals who need a boost of furniture and supplies for a move. For example, they partner with Hope House Colorado, which provides safe housing and job skills training for young mothers who have nowhere else to turn.
“I’m a big believer in: You get by giving. I have it on my business card. In my sphere of influence, they know me as a [real estate agent], but lately they know me as Knock Knock Angels.” —Scott Matthias
And they work with HUD-VASH, a collaborative program between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs that combines HUD’s Housing Choice Vouchers (or Section 8 housing vouchers) with supportive services from the VA to help homeless veterans and their families find and maintain permanent housing.
One of the first makeovers by Knock Knock Angels Colorado was for James, a former Marine. He was in the process of moving into an apartment with the support of the Colorado Homeless Coalition when the newly formed real estate volunteer corps paid a visit. (Matthias’ organization does not directly help individuals to find housing; it’s after veterans receive their keys that the Knock Knock Angels volunteers get involved.)
“After we told James how we were going to help him, he didn’t quite believe us,” Matthias recalls. He said, ‘I can’t get too excited because I've been let down my whole life.’ ”
But with Matthias as volunteer coordinator and Miller as a designer, the duo won him over.
Knock Knock Angels provided his dream space, complete with Broncos football memorabilia and a signed jersey, a comfortable couch and mattress, and materials donated from clients and real estate colleagues. Lobo attended the makeover reveal, too.
The makeovers aren’t just collections of castaway goods. “Our whole mantra is, if you wouldn’t want it in your house, we won’t put it in the house of a veteran,” Matthias says.
Another huge Knock Knock Angels success story: After Trea, a veteran who was living on the streets, was able to find housing and reconnect with his 11-year-old son, he received furnishings and support from Knock Knock Angels. He’s now a volunteer.
“I’m a big believer in: You get by giving. I have it on my business card. In my sphere of influence, they know me as a [real estate agent], but lately they know me as Knock Knock Angels,” Matthias says.
He emphasizes the client relations aspect of volunteerism. “People prefer to do business with people they know, trust and like. If you show a giving and caring attitude, people are going to see that. And people love to help,” whether that means volunteering or providing items for makeover wish list.
Building Dreams Beyond Housing
Local and state NAR members and association staff are big supporters. “There's probably not one makeover that I do where there’s not a fellow REALTOR® involved. So it’s been really cool from the standpoint of being able to [leverage connections made] through all my real estate leadership in Colorado,” Matthias says.
Matthias’ mentor, Kay Watson, an agent with Kay Watson Properties in Centennial, Colo., specializes in estate sales. She gives Knock Knock first dibs before each sale, offering them the chance to blue-tape the things they want, including new TVs and top-quality furniture. Then volunteers who own trucks transport the goods offsite till they are needed.
“Scott comes across a lot of clients who want to downsize or get rid of furniture,” Miller explains. “All my moving guys know about Knock Knock Angels. If they’re on a job and a customer wants to get rid of something, they always send me a picture: ‘Hey, Barrett, do you want this?’”
Every month, Matthias sends an email to his volunteer list of friends, family, clients, real estate pros saying how many volunteers he’ll need for an assigned location.
“It would take me all day to tell you everything I know about what this man has done in his lifetime. He is my role model, my inspiration. I cannot stress what a giving human being he is. If it's humanly possible, he does it.” —Barrett Miller
“We’ll ‘kick out’ the resident, and in less than three hours, their place will be transformed. They think they’re getting a couch or some beds, but really they’re getting an apartment that’s completely furnished with decor. We ask them the kind of artwork that they would like, and we go back to our storage facility for donated pictures,” Matthias says. “I have a whole basement of frames!”
As an extra touch, he asks makeover recipients for personal photographs as well, and he has them printed full-size for a “veteran wall” of photos and mementos that honor their military service.
When the resident arrives for the reveal, they are always amazed by the veteran wall. “They will do a double-take when they see their own pictures on the nightstand. The same goes for the single moms we help,” he says.
Random Acts of Kindness
When Knock Knock Angels learns of individuals outside of the HUD-VASH program in need of furniture and home goods, that’s when its “Random Acts of Kindness” come in. Matthias and his volunteer squad will open access to their five storage containers to anyone who can get a hold of a moving truck or van. “If you can fit it, you can take it!” he says. The group has provided nearly 150 Random Acts events since the beginning.
“I would have never dreamt that we would have done so much in three years,” Matthias says.
REALTOR® Scott Matthias CRS, GRI, e-PRO, C2EX, of Madison & Co. Properties in Greenwood Village, Colo. is co-manager of Knock Knock Angels Colorado.