Members at local and state associations do much more than sell homes in their communities—they belong in their communities. Nowhere is that exemplified better than through REALTOR® Volunteer Days.
Every year, members, affiliates and staff at local and state associations put on their REALTOR® association T-shirts, roll up their (figurative) sleeves and volunteer to serve people and places in need where they live. Working together to make life better for someone else creates a strong sense of belonging—both in their communities and as a member of their REALTOR® association.
From May 30 to June 7, this year’s REALTOR® Volunteer Days saw record-high participation, with approximately 300,000 members from nearly 500 REALTOR® associations pitching in by cleaning parks, packing food, building homes and myriad other good deeds, demonstrating the many ways that association members strengthen their communities.
Events like this, featuring hundreds of thousands of people, don’t just happen. They require focused effort and strong leadership to get members excited and involved. We spoke to a few local associations to find out a little more about how they organized their events and invited their members to serve their communities with gusto.
Billings Association of REALTORS® in Montana
Volunteers: 17 (limited by space)
Opportunities: Volunteers got creative this year, cooking up a meal themed around National Dinosaur Day for the local Ronald McDonald House. The meal featured Dino Nuggets, a mashed-potato volcano, gravy lava and broccoli trees—and a volunteer in a blow-up T-rex costume who helped set the tone. At Off the Streets, a Billings shelter for people experiencing homelessness, volunteers installed garden troughs, filled them with soil and planted vegetables to demonstrate the power of growing your own food. BAR also offered sponsorship opportunities for supplies and encouraged members not able to join that week to create their own volunteer opportunities and share their experiences through social media.
Engagement: BAR surveyed members to ask what volunteer opportunities they’d prefer and reached out to respondents to invite them to lead roles on volunteer teams. BAR used social media, email and printed posters to promote the event. A follow-up email went out to the entire membership, and Yellowstone Valley Woman magazine is featuring BAR’s volunteer activities.
The Difference: “Bringing our volunteers into the planning of the details created buy-in and a sense of ownership in the events,” BAR Executive Officer Amber Parish says. “Each volunteer was responsible for individual tasks essential for the event’s success. Leaning on our members’ strengths makes them feel valued.”
She adds: “One of the greatest outcomes of this was the fact that one of our newest members—who just attended orientation in April—got involved. There is no better way to show the value of the REALTOR® brand than to demonstrate how the power of her membership goes beyond the day-to-day of real estate.”
Bagnell Dam Association of REALTORS®, Lake Ozark, Missouri
Volunteers: 5 (limited due to size of facility)
Opportunity: Even with just a handful of volunteers, BDAR made a huge impact, serving more than 50 adults and children a hot, family-style meal at Our Father’s Table, a soup kitchen in Eldon, Mo. Volunteers greeted each person who entered, brought them drinks, silverware, meals, seconds and desserts; then cleaned the entire facility and restocked items in the “free” corner after the meal was over. “We made each person feel special,” Association Executive Cindy Imhoff, rce, says, “but more importantly, we wanted them to feel comfortable.”
Engagement: BDAR capitalized on a membership that is eager to be involved in community events. It promoted Volunteer Days through emails, its MLS system, social media and membership meetings. Post-event details were shared with local media, and BDAR filmed its own video recap for members.
The Difference: Members asked for one-on-one interaction with the community. Our Father’s Table provided that. The event also gave members a chance to connect more deeply. One volunteer suggested that the nonprofit track how many veterans were being served so it could get additional funding from Lake of the Ozarks Marine Corps League Auxiliary. Two other volunteers asked if they could make videos and share them on social media to invite friends and family members to donate items or funds.
“At the end of the evening, one of our volunteers suggested that Our Father’s Table start taking all the ‘volunteer’ name tags from each night and placing them somewhere within the facility to show how many volunteers it takes to make the organization run,” Imhoff adds. “They thought that was a great idea and are planning to make posters with the name tags to hang inside the facility.”
Franklin County Board of REALTORS®, Missouri
Volunteers: Nearly 90
Opportunity: FCBR’s members came out in full force to run gate shifts at the Washington Town & Country Fair in Washington, Mo., during the first day of the fair, taking shifts from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Engagement: This year marks more than 25 years that the association has volunteered at the fair. That kind of longevity and consistency makes it easier to recruit members to volunteer.
The Difference: Volunteers may wear REALTOR® T-shirts or company shirts for business marketing. “As far as the Fair Board is concerned, though, it’s the Franklin County Board of REALTORS® as a whole coming together to support their fair,” Association Executive Emily Schmich says. “Our members know how important it is to be seen in our community, and with 70,000 to 100,000 visitors attending the fair in its five-day run, they get plenty of ‘face time’ with the public. We love supporting a local entity that brings joy and fun memories to our community.”
Greater Springfield Board of REALTORS®, Missouri
Volunteers 7
Opportunity: GSBOR was already connected to organizations through its REALTORS® Helping People committee, a 501(c)(3) organization that receives and donates funding to support nonprofits and low- to moderate-income homeowners. So, when committee members got the email for this year’s volunteer days, they took the opportunity to be hands-on at local nonprofits. Volunteers delivered food to the YouthConnect Center, which helps at-risk young people; served meals at the Veterans Coming Home Center, a local day shelter for homeless individuals; packed “calm down” kits with diapers, socks, underwear, board games and caregiver packs at Sammy’s Window, which supports foster and adopted children; and assisted Garden Gate Provisions with organizing its prom dress closet.
Engagement: Along with its usual promotions to members, GSBOR shared details with its state association and on the personal social media pages of its committee members. “It wasn’t hard to get the members involved, because our group is passionate about helping our local nonprofits,” says Laura Daly, board member and chair of the REALTORS® Helping People committee. “We even had one response saying they didn’t know there was a Prom Closet, and they have dresses to donate. I believe this event was a huge bonus for building awareness in our community!”
The Difference: “The volunteers loved volunteering, and we may actually make this an ‘every month’ project,” Daly says. “In all, we [helped] 25 teens with the food distribution, 100 homeless, 200-plus families at Sammy’s Window, and 500-plus with attire for prom.”
She adds: “It also showed that we are more than just real estate agents selling homes. By volunteering, it shows we are part of our community. This opportunity also made our members see the change or potential to change someone else’s life in our community beyond just selling a home.”
Greater Chattanooga REALTORS®, Tennessee
Volunteers: 40
Opportunity: GCR is the only local association to have a dedicated Placemaking Committee. At this year’s board retreat, a member suggested the association go back to placemaking projects to see if they needed additional volunteer help. This is how GCR ended up recruiting volunteers to pull weeds and clean up the Hill City Pollinator Garden and a trailhead protected by Lookout Mountain Conservancy. Volunteers also staffed a Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area ReStore and participated at a build site with the Habitat affiliate, a longtime nonprofit partner of GCR.
Engagement: Along with usual membership-wide promotions—a weekly newsletter, member portal banner, texts, social posts and Coffee and Connections—the association asked board members, staff and members of all committees to volunteer with at least one event. “We said, ‘Let’s show up, let’s get out of our silos and get out there,’” says CEO/Executive Vice President Carol Seal, RCE, C2EX.
Importantly, the association also sent targeted communications to all those who participated in its annual fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity and in past placemaking projects.
For its weekly article in two local print and online newspapers, GCR also repurposed a National Association of REALTORS® news release, turning it into its board president’s column to explain what REALTOR® Volunteer Days are and invite friends and neighbors to join in. The association also posted a humorous outtakes video on its social pages after the event.
The Difference: GCR’s messaging focused on inviting members to show the community who they are beyond the transaction and how they make a difference. “Our tagline locally is ‘5 Opportunities, Real Community Impact,’” Seal says. “When we talked about it, we said, ‘You know, you’re so much more than the transaction and opening doors.’ Our former county mayor would say, ‘REALTORS® are the ambassadors to the city.’ We don’t think about it—it just comes out when we talk about anything, from orientation to everything else, what our members are beyond the transaction.”
Memphis Area Association of REALTORS®, Tennessee
Volunteers: 96
Opportunity: MAAR participated in REALTOR® Volunteer Days for the first time in 2026, responding to member feedback asking for more “micro-volunteer” opportunities, rather than opportunities lasting weeks or months. Volunteers set up event booths for WarHorses for Heroes, which provides equine-assisted therapy for veterans; prepped meal boxes at Mid-South Food Bank; supported Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis’ spring build; and landscaped the grounds at Girls Inc., whose mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold through mentorship and entrepreneurship programs.
Engagement: Members were invited to participate through association emails, social media and direct outreach efforts. MAAR’s Community Development Committee played a key role in driving participation through member-to-member recruitment. Then, throughout the week, photos, updates and success stories were shared to celebrate participants and encourage additional involvement as projects unfolded. Volunteers were also encouraged to share their experiences on their own social media platforms to amplify the impact and showcase members making a difference.
The Difference: At Mid-South Food Bank alone, volunteers sorted 2,833 pounds of food and assembled five pallets containing 36 boxes each, preparing 180 boxes for distribution. Those efforts helped support approximately 3,586 individuals facing food insecurity in the Memphis community. Volunteers also consistently shared how rewarding it was to give back while spending time with fellow members. Working side by side on meaningful projects strengthened professional relationships, created new connections and reinforced a sense of community within the association.
“One of the greatest successes of the week was bringing together REALTORS®, affiliates and staff around a shared purpose,” CEO and Executive Vice President Amanda Creel, rce, cae, says. “Volunteers had the opportunity to build relationships, collaborate outside of their normal business environments and connect through service.”
Want more guidance on how to manage your association’s REALTOR® Volunteer Days? Access the National Association of REALTORS®’ toolkit.
