Meet Kares 4 Kids: Positively Impacting Children and Communities By Beth Volpert Johansen
REALTORS® not only sell houses, but they also see the realities of the housing market. Any sale has a story, and any story has the potential to tell more than meets the eye at the front door. For Marci Fair of Keller-Williams Realty Atlanta Partners, there is almost always more to the story than marketing and sales. There is also the human factor. From home to homelessness, Marci’s perspective on what makes a community has changed over her years in real estate. It has come to encompass a drive to serve the community that began when she was just out of college. “I reserved a name in 1990 knowing that I wanted to begin a charity,” explains Marci. “Kares 4 Kids (K4K) finally got off the ground in 2005 with a donation of thirty-three book bags that we put together in our living room.” Fast forward to 2021 and more than 528,900 kids later, K4K has become a focal charity of the Atlanta Partners Keller Williams Real Estate offices. It has all been made possible by the generosity of donors and the incredible K4K Ambassadors and agent volunteers who selflessly give their time and energy to help children who are hurting. “Feedback is the breakfast of champions,” says Marci. “Learning from years of charity work allows us to give back in ways that are the most impactful to the communities where our offices are located.” K4K digs deepest to impact food insecurity, homelessness, and illiteracy. “These are all woven into the work we do,” says Marci. The organization holds six events per year in order to focus on making the most difference for children in the community. “Our agents always see, feel, and touch our events personally,” she explains. “They create tags for bears with personalized inspirational messages for the children experiencing trauma who might receive them, they pack book bags alongside their own children and the vendors we work with, and they deliver person-to-person because our community needs to see each other.” This summer K4K restocked a Gwinnett County Public Library Bookmobile with 4,500 books. “The Bookmobile went from 0 to 4,500
books, and was able to serve hundreds of neighborhoods over the summer,” Marci says. In the fall, K4K will donate another 6,590 books into children’s charities, local libraries, and Title I schools. The recent Christmas holiday event focused on teens who need everything from personal care items to school supplies. “They often need as much or more help than younger children, yet their needs often get overlooked,” says Marci. With the vision “to positively impact children today and strengthen our communities for tomorrow,” K4K is on track to surpass its own milestones. Working toward supporting at-risk children in their own communities, K4K has issued a challenge to themselves. “Our goal for 2021,” says Marci, “is to raise over $300,000 for children in need, which will put us over $2,300,000 raised for children since 2005!” All expenses of the charity are covered by private donors. One hundred percent of all donations go directly to helping the children. More information at www.kares4kids.com
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Ryan’s Remarks Continued from page 7 Plan your work and work your plan so you can grow – in all parts of your life – in a deliberate, purposeful, and intentional manner. This will lead to success in 2022 (no matter what you encounter) and you will grow and help everyone around you grow to even greater heights in the process. Thanks for being part of our amazing OUR TOWN community. Thanks for your ongoing support. Our team is so proud to have played a role in continuing to bring you positive news (through all our media platforms) each and every month. Here is to a great 2022. And now and as always, thank you for continuing with me on the journey of my town, your town, Our Town! January 2022 Our Town Gwinnett
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