On June 6, residents of Bonita Springs, Fla., awakened to find a beloved community park had been vandalized. The park is a popular gathering spot for holidays and special events, and city leaders were concerned that the graffiti spray-painted on the bricks and concrete of the park’s band shell and other structures would overshadow an otherwise peaceful protest calling for racial justice and equality.

Bonita Springs-Estero REALTORS® stepped in.

Meighan Harris, the association’s CEO, was the first AE to apply for and receive the National Association of REALTORS®’ new 2020 Community Rebuilding Grant. NAR launched the grant program in early June to support REALTOR®-led efforts to rebuild and restore communities rocked by tension and unrest. Harris worked with lawmakers to bring in a professional cleaning crew — and used the cleanup as an opportunity to convey through traditional and social media that her association stood for equality, fair housing, and inclusion.

Clad in masks and gloves, members of the Fredericksburg Area Association in Virginia gathered in late June for the Love Scrub.

So far, 14 REALTOR® association projects have been approved for grants of up to $3,000. The Fredericksburg Area Association of REALTORS® in Virginia used its grant to sponsor a communitywide event it dubbed a “Love Scrub.” REALTOR® volunteers cleaned downtown areas, including a community park, streets, and a police memorial.

“As REALTORS®, we commit to be part of the overall solution,” says Ezekiel “Zeke” Morris, REALTOR® Party community engagement liaison and owner of EMA Realty & Management in Chicago. “The grant is a great first step.”

Learn more at realtorparty.realtor/communityrebuilding.