Last Thursday, May 13 was a designated RED (renew, energize and donate) Day by Keller Williams Reatly International. RED Day was an opportunity for Keller Williams associates to improve their local communities through participating in service projects.
More than 70 Keller Williams associates from three Houston area offices spent RED Day volunteering at The Arrow Retreat Center in Porter, TX. The group from Keller Williams Northeast, The Woodlands and Professionals power washed cabins, painted buildings and prayer benches, and sealed the wooden pier over a fish pond – all to get the retreat ready for the summer.
The retreat is operated by Arrow Child & Family Ministries. The Christian organization helps place children in foster care and strengthen their bonds with their foster families. Arrow was founded in 1992 in Austin, TX, by a former foster child Mark Tennant.
Tennant selected the name based on his own experience as a foster child. His foster parents assured him that he was their son and he would always be welcome in their home. They would repeat a Bible verse: “Children are a gift of the Lord, like arrows in the hand of a warrior.” Those words became the scripture foundation of The Arrow Project that was later re-named Arrow Child & Family Ministries.
Keller Williams Realty Northeast Senior Team Leader Lisa Dempsey said that the Arrow Retreat was brought to her attention Rick Raanes, an agent in The Woodlands office. “We were looking for something closer to home,” says Dempsey about how the RED Day charity was selected. “It was a perfect fit because it is between two of our offices (Northeast and The Woodlands). When we heard it was for families and children, everyone wanted to give back.”
Participating associates from the Keller Williams Northeast office included: Dempsey, Dianna Hadley, Debbie Breaux, Kim Kirsch, David Dunford, Jay Dalbey, Bob Blewett, Steve Hansel, Tina Leigh, Dianna Bennett, Ed and Diana Rodgers, Carol Walker, Sandy Swensen, Susan Brown, Melissa Vargus, Suzanna Cheek, Halina Duncan, Rebecca Rameriz, Shelley Munday, Valerie Webster, Buddy Wall and Michael Clapp. Cathe Heinrich of Old Republic Home Warranty joined in the work effort and sponsored lunch for the office.
To learn more about The Arrow Retreat Center clean-up, watch this video from RED Day: http://makeavideo.kw.com/makeavideo/viewvideo.php?vid=635.
Keller Williams volunteers take a break from painting a cabin at The Arrow Retreat Center in Porter. Pictured are (from left) Shelley Munday, David Dunford, Suzanna Cheek, Ann Dee Brahms, Bob Blewett, Tina Leigh, Cathe Heinrich and Rebecca Ramirez
