“I just want to go home.”

How many of you have heard or uttered this phrase before? Perhaps your vacation didn’t go as planned or you’re pulling another late night at work—the thought of being with your own family in a familiar setting can keep racing through your head.

Now picture your own child pleading this to you after receiving a life-altering diagnosis or when they’re on day 20-something of chemo treatments.

Suddenly, the value of home is tremendously amplified.

Throughout REALTORS Care® Week 2022, a nationwide initiative to support housing and shelter-related charities, dozens of REALTORS® in Calgary, Alberta, volunteered at Ronald McDonald House Charities® Alberta by helping serve up some home-cooked meals for families residing there and setting up the University Heights location’s North Pole Experience just in time for the holidays.

On November 16, that festive feeling at the Ronald McDonald House in Calgary came alive as REALTOR® volunteers wrapped presents from community partners and finished stringing Christmas lights following a morning of preparing healthy breakfasts for current residents.

“We’re getting to see, firsthand, how our volunteering helps these families living here. Whether it’s a hearty meal to start the day or making things feel more like their home setting, we are here to show our support and help build a sense of community,” said Catherine Chow, Chair-Elect of the CREB® REALTOR® Community Foundation.

The CREB® REALTOR® Community Foundation is the community investment arm of CREB®.

The goodhearted people from CREB® and the CREB® REALTOR® Community Foundation understand the value of having a place to call home. In July, the foundation awarded $1 million in grant funding to support Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta.

“That funding is seminal to our expansion plans here,” said Ronald McDonald House Charities® Alberta CEO Jason Evanson, alluding to the Calgary location’s commitment to add more suites for families considering demand is at an all-time high. “We’re grateful for all levels of support coming from CREB®. Through their generosity, we’re off to a great start and hope it inspires more Calgarians and Albertans to step up.”

Spread over three years, this investment will help create an additional 60 suites for families needing the Ronald McDonald House in Calgary. Currently, the Calgary location has enough room for 27 families and, according to Denise Kinghorn, Chief Development Officer at Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta, they’re only able to meet 14% of their facility’s demand. The added rooms CREB® is helping to fund will help the house reach 50% of their demand.

“There’s nothing worse than having to tell a family, sorry we’re full. We pride ourselves in being a home away from home. It’s not just about providing the accommodations, it’s putting food in their tummies, giving them a space they can interact with other families going through similar scenarios, and trying to give them any bit of comfort possible while their kids go through these battles,” she said.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta is funded entirely through community donations and partnerships. The CREB® REALTOR® Community Foundation has been a supporter in the past, donating $25,000 last year to refresh the house’s playroom.

For Raeanne Blair and her family, having access to the house has helped make an unimaginable scenario just a bit less stressful. Her six-year-old daughter was diagnosed in September with an aggressive version of a Wilms’ Tumour, sending the family of six spiraling.

“Our first thought was: how in the world do we navigate this?” she said, mentioning how they live a three-hour commute from Calgary and extended stays at the hospital were becoming quite taxing. “It’s very important we can all stay together as a family because being apart for nine months wasn’t an option. Now we feel there’s at least a path forward for us.”

Made up of a membership of more than 6,800 REALTORS® and community members, the foundation exists to support the charitable and philanthropic activities of its members and to provide funding to housing and shelter-related initiatives in Calgary and area.

Since its inception in 1987, the foundation has contributed more than $8 million to a wide range of non-profit organizations in our communities.

By the numbers:

• One in four Canadians will know someone who needs to use a Ronald McDonald House.
• $1 million grant from CREB® will help triple capacity.
• RMHC Alberta saved families $6.5 million last year in residual medical journey costs.