As you may know, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. In partnership with The Sunshine Kids, our network – you and your great companies – have given nearly $34 million dollars to this organization which benefits children with cancer! In fact, just last year the network raised nearly $1.6 million dollars! The top company in the network last year was Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties, followed by the #2 company, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New Jersey Properties, and #3 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties.
And, whether it’s The Sunshine Kids or any of the other great charities that I know so many of you support, great job! It makes a difference and is a core part of who we are as a Brand!
But, given that it’s Childhood Cancer Awareness month, let’s put some shine and love into the Sunshine Kids during September! In fact, to bring the strength and benefit of this organization right down to the office level, I learned last week that one of our very own network agents, Hunter Boyle DeMauro with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Keys Real Estate in Key West, FL, is a Sunshine Kid!
Hunter attended the 2003 Sunshine Kids Mardi Gras Fun-Time Fantasy in New Orleans, LA as a teen battling cancer with a group of patients from Holtz Children’s Hospital in Miami, FL. The Sunshine Kids Foundation will highlight Hunter on September 16 — more details will follow.
Here are some other highlights for this month, that may also give you inspiration for future events:
- Last week, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago brought in personal pizzas to the pediatric oncology team at the Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, IL.
- On Saturday, September 12: I am excited about this one – I’ll be calling the numbers for a virtual “Bingo Extravaganza” with 45 Sunshine Kids teens from across the United States!
- On Wednesday, September 23: the great team again at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago will host a Virtual Childhood Cancer Awareness Dance Party! Fifty Sunshine Kids from across the United States and Canada will be invited to participate in this virtual dance party complete with a live deejay and minute-to-win-it challenges in break-out rooms co-hosted by Domino’s Pizza!
- In addition, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate in Omaha will host a golf tournament on September 9, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties in St. Louis will host a golf tournament on September 16, and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties will host a golf tournament on September 22.
Thank you to these great companies for their community spirit and support of The Sunshine Kids Foundation. This year has been tough on the kids, they cannot go on trips, so the virtual events help to give them an escape.
So, what can you do to make a difference? Here are a couple of ideas:
- You can make an automatic deduction from your transactions – your Broker or Manager can set the program up if it’s not already.
- You can participate in The Sunshine Kids Listing program which provides a branded SSK sign rider to show support to the foundation and, when the property sells and you make that donation, The Sunshine Kids Foundation will send a thank you post card to the client for donating and supporting their mission to add to the quality of life to children with cancer.
- If you enable the ‘donation opportunity’ when you shop on Amazon, you can choose to benefit The Sunshine Kids! Simply click the link to learn more and start providing some love to the Kids while you shop online. And it doesn’t cost you a penny!
And finally, for those of you at Summit last year, you saw one of our inspiring speakers, critically acclaimed author and speaker, Brant Menswar. Brant shared his personal story and lessons-learned on the topic of value-driven leadership. Brant has written a fabulous book called “Black Sheep: Unleash The Extraordinary, Awe-Inspiring, Undiscovered You”. This book will help you discover and unleash your Black Sheep Values; those deeply held, personal core values that simply cannot be changed — like a black sheep’s wool. You can learn more about Brant, our work together, and his book by watching the following video:
Brant, like us, also has a charitable foundation benefitting children with cancer. So, for the month of September, Brant will donate a portion of the book proceeds for every book sold to benefit The Sunshine Kids and his charity, Cannonball Kids. You can purchase a copy of the book here.
For more information, please visit the Sunshine Kids page on REsource Center for more details, just search keyword SSK. Until next time, thank you for your selflessness and generosity!
