Meet Five REALTORS® With a Heart

2022 WINNER

BRENDA CASE

2022 MEET THE FIVE REALTORS® WITH HEART

Colorado REALTORS® are committed to their communities. To recognize the service of REALTORS® who give back to their communities through volunteerism, charitable contributions, and leadership, the CAR Foundation launched the Colorado’s Heart Award in 2021, which named a finalist from each district and one statewide winner. Now in its second year, the Colorado’s Heart Award winner will receive a $3,000 donation to the charity of their choice and District Finalists will receive a $750 donation to the charity of their choice. Every single nominee will receive a donation for their charity.

“We at the CAR Foundation are thrilled to once again shine a spotlight on the incredible work that Colorado REALTORS® are doing in their communities. It’s inspiring to read the stories of the organizations and people who are helped as a result of REALTOR® commitment to service. We congratulate this year’s winner, Brenda Case of Grand Junction, and all of our District Finalists,” said Katia Leon y Leon, 2022 CAR Foundation Chair.

COLORADO’S HEART AWARD 2022 WINNER

BRENDA CASE

MUTUAL AID PARTNERS A Community Together

REALTOR® Brenda Case kept grassroots community efforts to feed and support the community thriving throughout the pandemic and beyond.

BRENDA CASE

The Grand Junction community, in the heart of Colorado’s Grand Valley, is knit together like a colorful tapestry. Sweeping vistas punctuated by steep red mesas give way to carpets of green farmland bordered by a lively city. Avid adventure seekers, farmers, and winemakers all call Grand Junction home, as do a thriving senior and veteran community. While residents of this vibrant community may be very different, the Covid-19 pandemic brought them together to support each other.

At the beginning of 2020’s pandemic shutdown, it became clear that the Grand Junction community was hit hard. A mutual aid Facebook group was formed by community members, where neighbors shared food, supplies, and support. The movement quickly grew and soon the group had thousands of members. REALTOR® Brenda Case volunteered to organize them, working with Mutual Aid Partners, a nonprofit founded to provide structure to the group’s efforts and enable fundraising.

“Brenda got the community organized to help,” said Stephania Vasconez, Executive Director of Mutual Aid Partners. “It’s incredible how much of our community she has touched.”

Case, who has spent much of her life on the Western Slope where she operates her business, Back To Basics Realty, jumped in, assuming project leadership roles and coordination efforts. She picked up and dropped off donations and recruited others to do the same for the group’s weekly distribution day held at a local church. Community members walk through to donate or pick up food and supplies.

The distribution event has fed more than 18,000 families to date, distributing over 290,000 pounds of food. “She is definitely not afraid to get her hands dirty and do the ‘boots on the ground’ work that needs to be done,” said Anita Adams of Back to Basics Realty.

Case also oversaw a mask-making and distribution project, enlisting and organizing more than 150 volunteers to produce and deliver over 50,000 masks during the pandemic. “Seeing the panic and fear in our community when the realization of the pandemic [hit] along with the lack of supplies and services was the biggest driving factor,” Case said. “My mother was very active in the community and she is my inspiration in so many things I do.”

The movement that Mutual Aid Partners started took off in a big way in Grand Junction, feeding more than 10,000 families in its first year. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. “In the last year. I have learned to never give up. Even when I thought there was just no way to have the funds or manpower to continue the many services we offer or the projects we pioneer, the community always comes through,” Case said.

Among the most meaningful parts of her volunteer work has been engaging with older adults, and her passion for brightening their lives shows. Case has coordinated 28 teams of senior engagement volunteers who provide holiday gift baskets, children’s artwork and theatre presentations, food, and clothing to more than 1,600 older adults. Case said it was especially rewarding to see this project become a multi-generational effort, drawing in support from children and other older adults in the community.

Case continues to honor the memory of her mother through her community service. “Due to my late mother's influence, I have tried to be active in my community for most of my adult life, but with Mutual Aid Partners, and specifically the senior engagement group, I feel like I've really found my niche,” she shared.

Working as a REALTOR® has helped her efforts to have greater reach. “(Enlisting) a number of my fellow REALTORS® in…projects has been a huge bonus in that, between us all, we have a huge (sphere of influence), enabling our projects to reach more of our community and enlist more volunteers,” said Case. “Of course, it doesn't hurt that I have amazing clients and friends who contribute to many of our projects, either through in-kind or cash donations.”

Contact Case at brenda@backtobasicsrealtygj.com and learn more about Mutual Aid Partners at https://mutualaidpartners. org/.

NATALIE CARRADO

METRO DISTRICT FINALIST SHESCHERISHED A SAFE PLACE TO LAND

REALTOR® Natalie Carrado felt called to help domestic violence victims break the cycle of abuse.

NATALIE CARRADO

The statistics are staggering. More than a third of women and a quarter of men experience abuse at the hands of an intimate partner. The effects of domestic violence ripple across communities, impacting families, schools, and businesses. Natalie Carrado knows firsthand the trauma and devastation of domestic violence. She was a victim, and so was her mother, the CHERI in ShesCHERIshed.

After many years, her mother, was able to free herself from her abusive relationship. In her memory, Natalie founded ShesCHERIshed, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to helping women who have been impacted by domestic violence through prevention, intervention, and restoration. “I'm trying to do my part to stop the generational cycle of domestic violence for other women and children through prevention, intervention, and restoration services,” Carrado said. “We’re committed to empowering victims and establishing spiritual, mental, and physical strength. Everyone deserves to be set free from relational abuse.”

ShesCHERIshed helps victims by providing connections to resources; financial assistance; items victims need to help with transition such as hotel and sundry gift cards; and spiritual guidance through ministry and bible study. ShesCHERIshed also provides advocacy services in the prison system to teach parenting curriculum and empower victims to break the cycle of abuse.

Carrado says victims of domestic violence come from every walk of life. “It doesn’t matter if we’re in an affluent community or not. It’s happening all around us. It doesn’t discriminate,” said Carrado. The prevalence of domestic violence has only increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, so demand continues to grow for the services ShesCHERIshed provides.

“The most rewarding part of what we do is when women are able to move from being a victim, to a survivor, to a ‘thriver’ in their lives and create a healthy lifestyle for their children,” said Carrado. “Watching this transition has been a huge blessing.” on land that she owns, a project for which they are fundraising. “Finding housing for women in crisis has been the biggest challenge,” she noted.

As a REALTOR®, Carrado knows she’s in a unique position to help. “I'm blessed to be able to sell real estate and use some of the funds to support helping women and children,” she said. “I look forward to the day when one of our ShesCHERIshed ladies are able to actually purchase their own home.”

Escaping and recovering from the trauma of domestic violence is a lifelong struggle for victims and helping them is a lifelong mission for Carrado. “If I'm still breathing and here on this earth, I have a purpose to serve these women and children in domestic violence relationships. To guide them in moving on to a healthy relationship spiritually, mentally, physically,” she said.

“For themselves, their children, and eventually and hopefully, them paying it forward to others. That's the goal.”

Contact Carrado at natalie@livingdenver.com and learn more about ShesCHERIshed at https://shescherished.org/

GLENNA CLARKOLMSTED

GLENNA CLARKOLMSTED

MOUNTAIN DISTRICT FINALIST COMMUNITY UTILITY SUPPORT PROGRAM A BRIGHTER FUTURE

REALTOR® Glenna ClarkOlmsted pioneered a community program to help those in need keep their lights and heat on.

A conversation was Glenna Clark-Olmsted’s lightbulb moment. She gave a financial gift to a struggling friend during the pandemic. “I said to her, ‘I know this won’t go far, but I hope it will help,’” she remembers. “She was so grateful saying it would keep her utilities on and paid.”

Olmsted-Clark has operated her business, Glenna Clark Real Estate, Inc., in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for more than 40 years. And while Steamboat Springs is a beautiful and idyllic place to live, it’s also expensive.

“I started thinking how frightening it must be for folks when their money is being stretched to where they are worried about paying the electric or gas bill especially during the win-

ter,” she said. “Upon investigation with our utility companies, I found that there is indeed a huge need not only during the pandemic but consistently throughout the year.”

Clark-Olmsted got to work. She rallied volunteers at the Steamboat Springs Board of REALTORS® into a Task Force aimed at funding and promoting a new program to provide financial assistance with utility bills to those in need, called the Community Utility Support Program (CUSP). She attended community markets and festivals to get the word out. “It was a natural first step to get my REALTOR® community involved,” said Clark-Olmsted. “It is so related to our profession and it would be so appreciated within our community. Our REALTOR® community is very generous and caring, so this was a natural fit and was immediately embraced by them.”

The program is structured as a fiscally sponsored project under the umbrella of the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, which provides tax-deductible fundraising capability and program support. Applicants for the Community Utility Support Fund are vetted by two local organizations who then steward direct payments to utility companies on behalf of the applicants.

Perhaps the most rewarding part for Clark-Olmsted is the positive ripple effect the program has had on other local organizations that, with the CUSP funding utility support, can now allocate precious funds to helping the community in other ways.

Contact Clark-Olmsted at glenna@zirkel.us and learn more about the Community Utility Support Program at https://yvcf. org/cusp/.

GEOFF FRAHM

GEOFF FRAHM

NORTHEAST DISTRICT FINALIST LOVELAND SERTOMA IN THE MOOD FOR LOVELAND

REALTOR® Geoff Frahm Volunteers His Time to Help Local Nonprofits Thrive

Loveland, Colorado, loves love. The town, named for a pioneer-era railroad president, has leaned into its warm and fuzzy name by hosting the nation’s largest valentine re-mailing program and constructing a giant love lock statue in the town center. REALTOR® Geoff Frahm loves Loveland, where he’s lived with his family for more than 20 years and operates his real estate business with The Group, Inc.

He shows his devotion to his community by volunteering his time with Loveland SERTOMA, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for those impacted by hearing loss. SERTOMA is a contraction for SERvice TO MAnkind. The organization hosts fundraisers during the year to bring the community together and raise funds for grants to community organizations. “Joining felt very natural,” Frahm says of his service with Loveland SERTOMA. “Growing up in Loveland, my dad was close friends with a few Sertomans, and I enjoyed volunteering with them to raise money to give back.”

“There are just a lot of big hearts in Loveland that have identified creative and unique ways to inspire and support our kids. SERTOMA finds ways to (grant) them money, but these groups pour their lives into a niche that literally changes the trajectory of a youth,” Frahm continued. The biggest challenge, he says, is not being able to say yes to every grant request. “I haven’t seen a grant request yet that wasn’t worthy of community support,” he says.

Loveland SERTOMA hosts fundraising events such as the annual Loveland Loves BBQ, Bands, & Brews event, which is now in its 16th year and is a favorite in the community. Through this event and others, Loveland SERTOMA has donated more

“It is amazing what a group of open hearts can do,” Frahm said. “I had the privilege to be the club President for two years… not once did I have a shortage of volunteers. I am so proud of my SERTOMA brothers in that even in the months long period (during Covid) where we couldn’t meet as a group, they all stuck with the club. They all kept paying their dues…we as a group never stopped being able to provide [grants] for the nonprofits we support.”

For Frahm, being a REALTOR® is another important way to give back to the Loveland community that he loves. “Especially in these years of abundant growth, it’s important to know that as a REALTOR®, you are a pathway to the pride of home ownership that everyone deserves. You get the privilege of being a counselor, friend, and trusted advisor to people in a very emotional process. Once all of that sinks in, it becomes fun to go to work,” he noted.

He added, “And it becomes fun to find ways to give back. We live in a country of abundance, and there are so many of our neighbors ready and willing to join together to help a cause.”

Contact Frahm at gfrahm@thegroupinc.com and learn more about Loveland SERTOMA at https://lovelandsertoma.org/.

SARAH HUNTER

SOUTHEAST DISTRICT FINALIST CASA OF PUEBLO A VOICE FOR CHILDREN

REALTOR® Sarah Hunter advocates for children in family court.

A baseball glove in the yard. Bicycles in a tangle outside the back door where laughing children left them--in a hurry to run in the kitchen for a snack. A family sitting down together at the dinner table. These are images and experiences that many take for granted, having grown up in stable homes and families without realizing how lucky they are. Almost half a million children in the United States end up in family court each year, through no fault of their own. Many are victims – of abuse, of neglect, of torment. The child welfare system is frightening and confusing for them. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Pueblo has a mission to advocate for abused and neglected children by providing trained volunteer advocates who offer a voice in the courts and community in support of children in the system. REALTOR® Sarah Hunter has been a volunteer for CASA of Pueblo, where she operates her business, Team House Hunters powered by eXp Realty, since 2020. She was inspired to get involved because she wanted to be a voice for children. “I have learned so much in the past few years, but the most important thing so far has been how far a little encouragement may go,” she said. Sarah has seen firsthand the challenges of children and families working their way through the family court system. “The hardest thing has been learning how mental health has such an impact on our community, and we do not have the resources needed,” she said. “Also, how very difficult it can be for people to understand that they need help and to ask for it.” Despite the sometimes heartbreaking circumstances under which Sarah acts as an advocate for children, she values the opportunity to give back. “The most rewarding part is seeing families be reunited in a safe way and having the resources available to them. I also love that, as a REALTOR®, I have the flexibility to be a volunteer,” she said. Contact Sarah Hunter at sehunter79@gmail.com and learn more about CASA of Pueblo at https://www.casaofpueblo. org/home

SARAH HUNTER