Keyes' Port St. Lucie Office Gathers Supplies in Support of RAPB + GLFR Initiative

By Deborah Shockley

Each year, we send our children to school with the understanding that the most important thing they should have to worry about is their education. For some students around the country, that isn't true. Their focus is on finding a place to sleep that night. 

This year, the Realtor Association of the Palm Beaches and the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale reached out to its members to see if we would be willing to collect clothing and school supplies. At our Summer CEO Tour event on July 24th, we hosted our St. Lucie County Schools District Homeless Liaison, Kylee Fuhr, where she spoke with us about the importance of this initiative. 

After learning about the over 1,800 homeless students in the area, we made a huge effort to give for these children. Lisa Crovato & Sonny Solomon from the Port St. Lucie office volunteered to cover the cost of a storage unit for a year where the Treasure Coast Community Outreach Events Committee will make these supplies available to the kids that need them. Our other Associates more than filled our office donation box, and Mike & Tim Pappas approved a donation on behalf of KeyesCares with which we purchased clothing in various sizes. 

I want to give a special thanks to Carolyn Niemczyk & Rene Smith for helping to spearhead the efforts in the office. On August 3rd, we brought everything to the Port St. Lucie RAPB + GFLR office, making a sizable contribution to the collection. 

Keyes Partners with CARE School in Miami

The Keyes Company and KeyesCares delivered school supplies from our Miami office drive to CARE School students.

The first day of school brings excitement and enthusiasm for opportunities ahead, but for some, those emotions are tempered by the uncertainty of not having the materials needed to take full advantage. Many students at CARE School know this feeling. 

KeyesCares' mission is "to support the communities in which we work and live by strengthening the essential components of the infrastructure that contribute to quality of life - Education, Children, Healthcare, and Community." While each are important in their own right, being able to partner with organizations that promote the welfare of more than one of those pillars allows us to better make a lasting impact on our communities.

CARE School provides a nurturing learning environment to children primarily from the Overtown community in Miami. Several Keyes Associates and corporate employees are actively involved in ongoing support of the school and this summer championed a drive throughout Keyes' Miami-Dade offices to gather much needed supplies for the students at CARE School.

At the completion of the drive, Keyes Owner & Vice President Tim Pappas, along with his son Jason from the Sunset office, Frank DeValdivielso from Coral Gables, Rene Beal from Commercial Miami, and Linda Chin from Palmetto Bay (all pictured above), delivered the supplies to CARE on the first day of the new school year.

President of the CARE Board, Marty Steinberger commented, "The generosity of Keyes Realtors in providing school supplies again this year means so much to families at CARE. For each student in the school to be able to start the year with necessary items is deeply appreciated by the parents, students, and teachers...The smiling faces of the children as they received [their] bags spoke volumes."

Thank you to each of the Keyes family who donated their time & supplies to help make this drive such an incredible success!