The seeds for a pre-Thanksgiving event were planted months earlier when the Bloomington-Normal Association of REALTORS® (BNAR) challenged its Young Professionals Network to get involved with a local Habitat for Humanity project.

(l to r) Brett Winters of Wintrust Mortgage, Erica Epperson of Coldwell Banker Heart of America, Amanda Wycoff, new homeowner Latasha Mayberry, Ashley Brownfield of Berkshire Hathaway Snyder Real Estate and Kri Kopistke of Berkshire Hathaway Snyder Real Estate. Wycoff is IAR YPN Vice Chair and YPNBN Chair, while Winters and Epperson are part of the YPNBN Advisory Council. Photo by Diane Cote, BNAR Deputy AE and YPNBN Staff Liaison.

Not only did larger numbers of the YPN respond with energy and enthusiasm in October, but last week they showered the single mom and her daughters with housewarming gifts. BNAR President Amanda Wycoff praised the energy and enthusiasm of her colleagues during the previous months.

“In the past, we have had low turnouts for Habitat builds, but this year, members of our newly-founded YPN jumped on board,” Wycoff said. “We actually had more volunteers than were needed that first day on the building site. During the course of the morning, each member seemed to really bond with the future owner of the home – a hard-working single mom with three girls. After leaving that day, they really wanted to do something more than swing a hammer.

“That’s why they met her last week,” she added. “Each YPN member gave their own money and collected donations from their brokerages to buy Christmas decorations, journals, personalized baskets, a personalized welcome mat and Walmart gift cards. The mom was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, and our members were grateful for the opportunity to go above and beyond traditional volunteerism.”

Bloomington officers include: President Wycoff, President-Elect Karen Stailey-Lander of Bloomington, Treasurer Edwin Neaves of Bloomington and Association Executive John Collins of Bloomington.

(This is one part of a series of stories that shine a light on charitable community work performed by local Illinois associations and their members.  To see all of the stories published so far, search for “charitable giving.”)