Posted on Apr 24, 2019 in
COVER STORY
Two years ago, Keller Williams (KW) Southwest in Sugar Land made a record contribution of $25,000 to Fort Bend County nonprofits when more than 150 agents volunteered their time to three local nonprofits and two beneficial drives. And that was in just one week.
Sherry Eberle, Fulshear Walmart Store Manager; Mona Parikh, Keller Williams; Brandon Mouton, Director, Richmond/Rosenberg Boys & Girls Club; Verna Koleosho-Johnson, Keller Williams and Evelyn Traylor, Advocates of Healthy Minds. Photo by Joey Belleza.
This effort was called RED (Renew, Energize, Donate) Day, which is Keller Williams Realty’s annual corporate day of service. Always held on the second Thursday in May, the day honors Moe Anderson, who is the Keller Williams Realty vice chairman of the board, known for her giving personality. This initiative demonstrates the Keller William’s philosophy of “Giving Where We Live,” and for Fort Bend’s KW Southwest, RED Day was just the beginning of community engagement.
To date, Keller Williams is the largest real estate franchise with more than 1,000 offices and 180,000 associates, and it is Number One in the sale and unit volume in the nation. So, it’s no wonder that KW Southwest, Fort Bend’s largest real estate office, is taking their corporate philosophy of giving to an entirely new level with a ground-breaking concept where they will “Paint the Town Red,” Keller Williams’ signature color.
Painting the Town Red
KW Southwest’s new initiative this year combines their corporate culture of community engagement with what they do best: selling homes. Organized by KW Southwest Agents Verna Koleosho-Johnson and Tara Flores, this first-time event earns a solid mark of 100: 100 agents, hosting 100 open houses, collecting school supplies for 100 students in need.
This summer on July 27th and 28th, KW Southwest agents will “Paint the Town Red” with this unique concept of giving. KW Southwest agents will host 100 open houses for two days throughout the Fort Bend area, and these 100 homes will serve as drop-off sites for school supplies that will be given to 100 students in need enrolled in Fort Bend ISD and Lamar Consolidated ISD – just in time for the new school year. The goal? One hundred backpacks filled to the brim with essential school supplies.
“KW Southwest encourages agents to be present in the community, to care about the community and to support the community,” said Johnson, who shared KW Southwest’s passion for giving where you live, and specifically with this initiative, children in need. For most children, the beginning of a new school year is an exciting time, but when children do not have the basic essential supplies to succeed, back to school can be very difficult. KW Southwest’s goal is to make back to school something to look forward to for all children. “We want to leave a legacy – a spiritual legacy, a financial legacy and a social legacy. That is what we are doing here, right where we live with events like ‘Paint the Town Red.’”
To assist in securing 100 available homes for open houses and drop-off sites during “Paint the Town Red,” KW Southwest called on one of their partners, the premier master-planned community developer in Fort Bend, The Johnson Development Corp. “Johnson Development immediately stepped up by offering houses in their communities for agents to also hold open in support of “Paint the Town Red,’” shared KW Southwest agent Susan Garczynski.
To assist with locating participating homes throughout Fort Bend, organizers are creating maps of all of the open houses. Whether you want to “buy a house or help a child in need,” maps will be posted on KW Southwest’s website at www.kwsw.com and on KW Southwest’s Facebook page @KWSouthwest.
Living Up to a Philosophy
Creating and hosting an event such as “Paint the Town Red” is a natural evolution for KW Southwest, one that aligns naturally with their corporate culture of “Giving Where We Live,” which is very appealing to their agents. “The corporate culture of Keller Williams is what drew me to it in the first place,” said Johnson, who has been an agent for KW Southwest for three years. “From the moment you walk into the building, you can feel the giving atmosphere. It comes from the agents and the leadership as well.”
KW Southwest agent and “Paint the Town Red” organizer Tara Flores concurred, adding that “culture, culture, culture and family atmosphere,” is was also what appealed to her. “I do not see myself going to any other brokerage because of the loyalty I have seen with Keller Williams,” said Flores who has been a KW Southwest agent since 2015. “It is a wonderful atmosphere to grow your business in, and they focus on growing you.”
“Giving Where We Live” is a year-round effort for KW Southwest, and it doesn’t end with events like “Paint the Town Red.” This year’s RED Day is scheduled for May 9th, and just as they have in previous years, KW Southwest agents will volunteer in the community, this time with the Richmond-Rosenberg branch of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston by hosting a carnival for children. Throughout the year, KW Southwest hosts community engagement events all with the purpose of service.
“It is important to us to serve our community in all aspects,” Johnson said. “We want the community to know we are constantly working on how we can better serve them.”
For more information on “Paint the Town Red” and other KW Southwest community events, visit www.kwsw.com and KW Southwest’s Facebook page @KWSouthwest.
Keller Williams Southwest “Champions for Charity”
The corporate culture admired and emulated by KW Southwest agents encourages them to give where they live in a myriad of ways. Benefitting the Fort Bend community, KW Southwest has launched another new initiative of giving: “Champions for Charity.”
As a “Champion for Charity,” one KW Southwest agent per month advocates for a specific Fort Bend charity, as well as provides a donation. “This is an organized effort to increase awareness about and provide support for the nonprofits in our community,” said KW Southwest agent Susan Garczynski of the effort that began in March.
Keller Williams “Champions of Charity”: Verna Koleosho-Johnson, Pinky Pirani, Melanie Horn, Elaine Hattan and Mona Parikh. Photo by Norman Lew.
For 2019, the charities selected to participate in KW Southwest’s “Champion for Charity” initiative include:
• First Colony Dream League
• East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry
• Child Advocates of Fort Bend
• Boys & Girls Club
• Fort Bend Family Promise
• Saving Our Companion Animals (SOCA)
• Fort Bend Women’s Center
• Parks Youth Ranch
• Brent Event Foundation
• Fort Bend Literacy Council
• Rose B. Johnson Colon Cancer Foundation
To further raise awareness, KW Southwest hosts a weekly podcast on their Facebook page @KWSouthwest, and once a month, the podcast features the KW Southwest “Champion for Charity” for the month and a representative from the chosen charity. For more information about KW Southwest Champions for Charity, visit www.kwsw.com or check out their podcast on Facebook @KWSouthwest.
