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Stay current on industry issues with daily news from Illinois REALTORS®, network with other professionals, attend a seminar, and keep up with industry trends through events throughout the year.
Although the REALTOR® Association of the Fox Valley (RAFV) has completed one holiday initiative and is still working on another, several individual offices have spearheaded campaigns, too.
In the first project, about 20 RAFV volunteers helped pack food and personal care items for several 
hours on Nov. 5 at the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva. The group packed 5,720 pounds of food or the equivalent of 4,766 meals. The food bank serves 13 counties in northern Illinois.
Also, RAFV members are collecting money and gift cards to benefit the non-profit charity, the Renaissance Foundation in St. Charles, IL. The Annual Spirit Gift Drive is part of the foundation’s joint project with the Educational Equal Chance Program to purchase winter clothing and holiday gifts for homeless children and teens in Kane and DuPage counties, as well as the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Peggy Brown of Sevenoaks Realty in Batavia helped bring the charity’s needs to the RAFV’s attention.
Other charitable projects initiated by individual offices are:
- Collecting personal care items for the Lazarus House, which provides needy or homeless families in St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and western rural Kane County with shelter, food and support services (Managing Broker Donna McQuade of Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell in Geneva);
- Collecting donations of Meijer and Target gift cards through Dec. 8 for TriCity Family Services, which provides counseling and mental health services for individuals and organizations of central Kane County (Lori Linkimer of Berkshire Hathaway HomeService in St. Charles);
- Collecting clean, reusable winter coats through Nov. 28 at the office for Royal Real Estate of Illinois in St. Charles, using the resources of the organization One Warm Coat to connect with local service agencies (Broker Elyece Miller of Royal Real Estate); and
- Collecting new and unwrapped toys for the local Toys for Tots campaign at the Royal Real Estate of Illinois office (Broker Elyece Miller).
Fox Valley officers include: President Bobbie Gerbrecht of St. Charles, President-Elect Barbara Schori of Elgin, Treasurer Betty Ebert-Rylko of Hampshire, Secretary Mark Coleman of St. Charles, Association Executive Ann Hammerstad of Geneva and Association Executive Chris Studebaker.
(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.”)
