Bill Landau of Wells Fargo encourages conference goers to designate a state for REALTORS Relief Foundation contributions. For each member who puts a name on the Relief Wall, Wells Fargo will make a contribution to the foundation.
During the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Orlando NAR is collecting donations to the REALTORS® Relief Foundation (RRF) for Hurricane Sandy disaster assistance. Already, more than 1,500 REALTORS® have answered the call for donations. On Oct. 31, NAR President Moe Veissi e-mailed all NAR members, asking for “what you can—every amount helps.” (Update: At a member forum on Thursday, Veissi announced that NAR would match members’ donations up to $500,000.)
If you’re attending the conference, you can make a donation at the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage-sponsored Relief Foundation Wall in West Hall D Lobby of the Orange County Convention Center during the following hours:
Friday, Nov. 9: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, 11/10: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday, 11/11: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
You can also donate online.
The Foundation is working with associations in New York, New Jersey, and other affected areas to aid victims in those states with housing-related assistance. A donation to RRF is tax-deductible, and 100 percent of donations are used for relief. NAR covers the administrative costs of operating the Foundation.
Read Erica Christoffer’s post, “REALTORS® on the East Coast Help Clients Pick Up the Pieces Following Hurricane Sandy.”
REALTORS Relief Foundation aid will help restore areas such as Union Beach, N.J., damaged when Hurricane Sandy hit the Eastern Shore Oct. 29.
The dock that Kate Koplinka grew up crabbing off of in Mastic Beach, Long Island, New York, vanished beneath the wind and flood waters of Hurricane Sandy this week. Yet Koplinka, ABR, vice president and associate broker of Coldwell Banker M&D Good Life in Moriches, New York, feels lucky. The devastation could have been worse—as it was for too many others, she says. Koplinka’s area of Suffolk County along eastern Long Island has 100-year-old trees strewn over electrical lines. Additionally, all major bridges, tunnels, and public transportation systems are closed, and school hasn’t been in session since last week.
Hurricane Sandy surged across the East Coast Monday and Tuesday, bringing with it rain and 75-90 mph wind gusts, causing devastating damage and flooding from Virginia to Massachusetts. At least 32 people have lost their lives, many are still missing, and numerous residents have lost their homes, continuing to take shelter in local schools and community centers.
Flooding in Suffolk County, eastern Long Island, New York. —Photo submitted by Kate Koplinka
An early assessment released Tuesday from economic analysis firm IHS, estimates economic loss between $30 billion and $50 billion for the region, including infrastructure damage, oil production loss, shipping and distribution delays, and various other commercial product shutdowns. On Monday, research firm CoreLogic estimated that 284,000 properties valued at $88 billion were at risk of damage or destruction from the superstorm. New York had the highest number of properties at risk with just over 81,000 valued at $35.1 billion, followed by 75,000 properties in New Jersey totaling $22.6 billion.
The REALTORS® Relief Foundation is currently accepting donations to provide housing-related assistance to victims of the disaster. The foundation is working with state associations in the affected areas to distribute the funds to those in the REALTOR® family and the community at-large. All of the money donated goes directly to help those in need; NAR covers all administrative costs associated with the 11-year-old program. Make a donation today.
“We were at an open restaurant yesterday and an older man was sitting alone, his apartment was flooded and he had nowhere else to go,” Koplinka said. The man, who lived in Rocky Point, New York, said all of the hotels were full and the shelters were allegedly turning people away. To make matters worse, 85 percent of Long Island is currently without power, she said, and the drinking water in Nassau County in western Long Island is off limits. Continue reading »
Pat Moore, a Michigan real estate professional and a 2007 Good Neighbor Award winner, returned last week from his second trip to Haiti since a major earthquake struck that country in January this year. Here’s the final post from that journey.
Bon Repos, Haiti — April 25th, 2010
The Harvest of Haiti team is home from trip number two. The four of us did a wonderful job taking care of the sick and injured. For Jobie and Joel it was their first trip, and they saw Haiti at its worst. We saw things that no one should have to see.
The I.D.P camp No. 9 was home to 5,501 people. The camp was set on an old garbage dump and people were living on the dirt with cement blocks for pillows. Children were covered with scabies, flea bites, and a host of other skin problems. Ear infections and malaria were rampant. No water and no food were present. I went through at least 100 tents and found less than 2 lbs. of rice. Each week a couple people die of hunger and a host of other medical problems. Continue reading »
A couple of months ago, we published a series of on-the-scene posts from 2007 Good Neighbor Award winner Pat Moore, who was assisting with relief efforts in Haiti after a devastating succession of earthquakes sparked a humanitarian crisis in that country. Moore recently traveled there again to continue his work. Although much of the media coverage of Haiti’s plight has faded, the need for help has not, he says. Here is the first part of his account from his latest trip:
Bon Repos, Haiti — April 14, 2010
I have never seen it rain the way it did last night. Because of the heavy cloud cover, there was no Internet service. Yesterday we dropped 300 lbs. of rice and 4 gallons of cooking oil to the orphanage next door. Most of the day was planning the medical help in the tent cities, filling pill bottles, and packing the medical bag. The site where most bodies were buried is now used as the new dump. All of those unknown souls buried under a ton of trash. We found a new tent city — the worst I have ever seen — on the way to the dump. Shacks made out of plastic and cardboard. No real shelter for anyone, and the place is full of kids. Continue reading »
Pat Moore, who was honored with a Good Neighbor Award in 2007 for his extensive charity work in Haiti, arrived in that country on Friday, Jan. 29, to assist with relief efforts. During his time there, he’ll be sending regular updates that will be posting here on Speaking of Real Estate.
This is Moore’s 64th trip to Haiti since 2001. Each time he goes, he brings food, installs water filtration systems, and provides medical care using his training as a firefighter. In Port-au-Prince, he supports an orphanage/foreign adoption agency and a shelter for men and women run by a local priest. He also makes regular trips to provide aid to three remote mountain villages.
On this trip, he brought a dozen tents, high-protein foods such as tuna and peanut butter, and hundreds of doses of antibiotics. He is focusing on helping to rebuild the damaged orphanage and providing food, clean water, and medical care wherever he can. He plans to stay for about two weeks and then return in March.
NAR and Good Neighbor Award Sponsor Lowe’s donated $50,000 to his non-profit, The Harvest of Haiti. The REALTORS® Relief Foundation has donated another $500,000 to relief efforts in Haiti and is continuing to raise funds at http://www.realtor.org/about_nar/haiti_relief.
Updates from Pat:
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