REALTORS® Restore Public Places

Pictured: Jesse Purdon, a Bonita Springs, Fla., city councilman, and Meighan Harris, CEO of Bonita Springs-Estero REALTORS®, helped bring REALTORS® and lawmakers together to repair damage to a city park using a grant from NAR.

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.

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.

Notice: The information on this page may not be current. The archive is a collection of content previously published on one or more NAR web properties. Archive pages are not updated and may no longer be accurate. Users must independently verify the accuracy and currency of the information found here. The National Association of REALTORS® disclaims all liability for any loss or injury resulting from the use of the information or data found on this page.

New Community Rebuilding Grant

June 4, 2020
A new, special grant for REALTOR® associations led efforts to rebuild and restore public community places impacted by the recent demonstrations.

Advertisement

Advertisement

About AExperience

All state and local REALTOR® association executives, association communication directors, regional MLS executives, and Government Affairs Directors receive AExperience at no cost. Issues are mailed to the address found in NAR’s M1 system. To update your AExperience subscription preferences, update your mailing address in M1.

Update your address