In June, NextHomies closed down their offices and rolled up their sleeves. From Southern California to North Carolina, and dozens of locations in between, corporate leadership, brokers, owners, and agents dedicated their day to community service.
The occasion was a little Frenchie dog’s birthday. NextHome’s mascot, Luke, turned eight on June 15th. Throughout the years, Luke Day has come to symbolize the company’s care for communities.
“The places and people we serve are at the center of NextHome’s corporate philosophy,” said Charis Moreno, NextHome’s Vice President of Sales. “By setting aside Luke Day for community service, we pause and recenter on the core of who we are: a company that puts Humans Over Houses.”
This year for Luke Day, Charis joined fellow franchise sales team members Hoogeh Hakim and Jennifer Wertheimer to pick up trash at a Southern California park. After stuffing eight bags with garbage (and properly disposing of their finds), the team continued their community service at the Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks Police Departments. Police officers and support staff were treated to Krispy Kreme donuts and heartfelt thanks for their selfless service.
Meanwhile, in Northern California, the NextHome corporate team was elbow-deep in dirt, vegetables, and laughter. Mackenzie Baishiki, NextHome’s Director of Events, led the charge at Livermore’s Fertile Groundworks as the team harvested, weighed, washed, and prepared more than 457 pounds of onions and garlic. Fertile Groundworks empowers people and communities to increase their health, wellbeing, and self-reliance by growing food for themselves and others.
The NextHome team also planted two flats of tomatoes, six flats of peppers, shucked fava beans to plant next year, turned and mulched two 40-foot vegetable beds, and dug out a leaking pipe in the orchard.
“The NextHome group is one powerhouse of a team,” Fertile Groundworks wrote in a quick note after the event. “Your enthusiasm and energy was truly inspiring and motivating to us. After you all left, we just wandered about the garden being amazed at all the chores you accomplished. Thank you!”
“We had a blast getting together,” Mackenzie said. “We hugged a lot, we got dirty, sweaty, and learned so much.”
In North Carolina, NextHome’s Vice President of Learning and Development Jim Fischetti and his Executive Assistant Joellyn Francis teamed up with NextHome In The Triangle, NextHome Triangle Properties, and NextHome Turn Key Realty for a community food drive. The team gathered 482 pounds of food – enough to feed about 400 people. Then, these NextHomies sorted 8,813 pounds of potatoes, which provides 7,334 meals.
From coast to coast, dozens of NextHome franchises served their communities:
- NextHome Elite Realty in Springfield, Massachusetts held a fundraiser for their local Boys and Girls Club filled with live music, games, crafts, food, and fun.
- NextHome Star Realty in Marinette, Wisconsin partnered with Marinette County Canine Partners Inc. to raise money for a fourth K9 police dog. Their team matched the $1,000 raised, showing their support for those who protect the Marinette community.
- Throughout a day of activities designed for the whole family, NextHome Prime Real Estate in Westby, Wisconsin raised money for their local Driftless Humane Society. The day was filled with food, drinks, merchandise sales, bake sales, face painting, plenty of laughter, time with furry friends, and a raffle for a custom-drawn pet portrait.
- NextHome Destination in Bozeman, Montana participated in Operation H2Go delivering water and supplies to devastated communities in their area after recent tragic flooding. The water was distributed to various communities in need, after floods had damaged water-cleaning systems and contaminated clean water sources.
- At their local Food Truck Friday held in central park, NextHome SoMo Life in Missouri teamed up with Leslie Coleman of Heart + Soul Photography, offering pet portraits with all the proceeds benefiting Canine Companions.
- NextHome Treasure Coast in Fort Pierce, Florida hosted a large Luke Day celebration to raise money and awareness for Nala’s New Life Rescue and the St. Lucie Humane Society. The team gathered food trucks, local artisan vendors, face painters, fairy hair specialists, glitter tattoo artists, games, raffles, and more.
- NextHome Executives in Houston, Texas rounded up a team of corporate executives, NextMortgage lenders, family, and friends to volunteer at their local food bank. Together, they sorted, sanitized, and boxed 50,000 pounds of food, creating about 15,000 meals. “After a hard day’s work, the room was filled with nothing but smiles and gratitude,” said NextHome Marketing Team Member, Sharmaine George.
The list goes on! Leading up to all these events, members purchased 750 Luke Day t-shirts as a part of NextHome’s national fundraiser for Canine Companions. These shirts resulted in a $7,500 donation to Canine Companions, a nonprofit that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs.
A huge thanks to everyone who made Luke’s birthday one to remember!