Thanks in part to some creative fundraising by REALTORS® in Red Deer, Alberta, the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre will soon have a second therapy dog for children dealing with abuse, giving them comfort during the times when they need it most; and a local emergency shelter has received a financial boost in support of their work building better futures for women and children impacted by violence.
In June 2022, Royal LePage Network Realty hosted a successful Storage Wars-inspired charity event with which they raised a total of $63,000. Following the event, they donated $50,000 to the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre and the remaining $13,000—plus a selection of gift cards and toys—to the Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter.
Over the past decade, Royal LePage Network Realty has raised more than $500,000 for local charities. They are known for their annual charity golf tournament, which raised $92,000 in 2019 alone. The tournament typically takes a year of planning. Due to the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the team held off on planning one for 2022; but as pandemic restrictions began to be lifted in late spring, they pivoted to a new approach. REALTOR® Tammy Jensen came up with the idea for a Storage Wars-inspired fundraiser. Alongside a committee that included her fellow REALTORS® Keri Jensen (her sister-in-law) and Alyss Gehl, she planned and executed the event in mere months.
“We grew something that started as a kind of random idea to meet a need into an event that became so popular that we were shocked by its success, attracting more than 100 people when at first I thought we’d only draw enough to raise maybe a few hundred dollars,” says Jensen.
At the heart of the event was the goal of helping the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre add a second therapy dog to their team to help calm stressed children as they tell authorities about the abuse they suffered.
“I’m a dog person and really have a soft spot for kids,” says Jensen. “I was a teachers’ aid and school secretary for years, where I saw issues arise with families. Some social workers would come in and talk to us about the issues, so this was a cause near to my heart.”
So how did the Storage Wars charity event work?
Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, the event featured a live auction of storage lockers full of amazing prizes. Each unit was filled with brand-new donated items and would then be bid on by participants. These were mostly one-of-a-kind experiences that people couldn’t go and buy otherwise.
“To make it fun, our committee had a theme for each storage unit that would be auctioned,” says Jensen. Some of the themes include the Gambler, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Golf Couples Paradise, and a Mystery Unit worth more than $5,000 that was donated by the broker-owners on behalf of the company.
For the Patio Party, for example, The Bay donated a conversation patio set. As part of the package, one of the company agents who is in a band donated a private backyard concert to go along with it. There were other donations added into it such as plants and coolers.
The charity event also boasted a silent auction, 50/50 draw, food trucks, drinks, live music, a VIP pub crawl, and an after party.
“As far as I know this Storage Wars-type event for this kind of charity hasn’t been done before,” says Jensen. “It was fun, it was unique, and people were excited to participate because it wasn’t something anyone had expected.”
The team at Royal LePage Network Realty pulled off a one-of-a-kind fundraiser that was sure to leave its attendees with lasting memories. But the best part is, of course, the lasting impact made by their donations to two important charities in their community. The Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre reports that their new dog is in the process of being trained and is expected to take on its new role with their organization later this year.
