Every year on the second Thursday of May, the REALTORS® from Keller Williams Lifestyles in London trade in their dress shoes for work boots and take to the streets for their annual community revitalization initiative.
RED Day, as it’s known, stands for renew, energize, and donate. Over 120,000 Keller Williams Realty associates from around the world participate every year. The project has a broad range of focuses and enables the volunteers to target wherever renewal is needed most, such as public parks, gardens, and community centres. The Keller Williams Lifestyles team has participated in this global day of service since it was created nine years ago. This year, they decided to show their appreciation to the students and staff of Lord Elgin Public School by renewing school spirit and pride with a special makeover.
“We wanted to bring the school a sense of spirit and make it a place that the kids are proud to call theirs,” explains Team Leader Meg Hetherington. “We decided to create a mural in one of the school’s main focal points. We worked with graphic designers and painters to prepare everything in advance. While that was happening, we had volunteers clean up the gardens trafficked areas. We planted a veggie garden for teaching kids to grow their own food, and even constructed an outdoor classroom.”
The Keller Williams Lifestyles team began planning months in advance and began fundraising as soon as the project had been selected. They coordinated with local businesses for supplies and had their marketing team appeal to the general public for volunteers. In total, 120 people participated in this year’s local RED Day efforts.
“Working as a REALTOR® instills in you a real sense of community. You form relationships with your clients, and you get exposed to a variety of issues that you would have never known about otherwise,” says Meg. “Lord Elgin is an amazing school and we are so happy to have been able to show our appreciation for everything they do in our community.”
Meg and her team have already started planning for next year’s RED Day event.
