RISMEDIA, January 13, 2011—REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Society is seeking entries for Volunteering Works, a program that matches REALTORS® who would like to expand their community service outreach with a mentor who is already a successful volunteer leader.
For the third year, the Good Neighbor Society is soliciting applications from REALTORS® who work on small-scale charitable efforts that have great potential for growth. Five Volunteering Works applicants will be selected to receive a year of one-on-one mentoring from a member of the Good Neighbor Society and a $1,000 grant as seed money to help implement improvements to their community program. The Good Neighbor Society is comprised of past recipients of REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Award.
“REALTORS® value community and service,” said National Association of REALTORS® President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I. “The Volunteering Works program is just another example of how REALTORS® strive to strengthen and support their communities. It’s also a chance for REALTORS® to work together to find new ways to support those in need and expand their volunteer work.”
Recipients will be selected based on their dedication to the community through volunteer work and the potential for their charitable work to be expanded or improved with the help of an expert mentor. Ideal candidates have been active in charity work, can identify specific challenges they would like to address and have specific goals for the future of their community service project. Applicants must be NAR members.
Good Neighbor Award winner mentors on average spend more than 20 hours a week on volunteer work and have built and led some of the most effective charitable organizations in the country. Since 2000, there have been more than 100 winners and honorable mentions of the Good Neighbor Award.
“These mentors can share their insights as well as help motivate other REALTORS® to volunteer in communities,” said Craig Conant, Good Neighbor Society Advisory Council Chair and a 2001 winner of REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Award. “The Volunteering Works recipients get the benefit of their mentors’ many years of experience building a non-profit and dealing with the everyday challenges of fundraising, recruiting volunteers and building an effective board.”
“So many REALTORS® are leaders in their communities, dedicating time and energy, and helping people in need,” said REALTOR® Magazine publisher Frank Sibley. “This is an opportunity for REALTORS® to learn from some of NAR’s most successful volunteers.”
Volunteering Works is funded by The Stuart & Jill Siegel Charitable Foundation.
For a Volunteering Works entry form, go to www.Realtor.org/gna and click on “Volunteering Works.” The entry deadline is Feb. 22, 2011. Recipients will be notified in April.
For more information, visit www.realtor.org.
