Since the beginning of March, Brad Nelson and Kelli Lovell of Coldwell Banker R.M.R. Real Estate in Bobcaygeon have been volunteering to help with deliveries to keep people in their homes. They have former clients who are residents or staff at the Pinecrest Nursing Home, where the coronavirus outbreak has killed 29 residents and the wife of a resident.
“Community transmission in a village of 3,000 is a fact of life. All of the volunteers are doing their best to stay healthy and hope they can avoid becoming ill to keep doing deliveries,” says sales rep Shawn Lackie of the brokerage’s Lindsay office. He collected stories of what agents were doing in Coldwell Banker R.M.R.’s 10 offices.
The Mash Team (Linda, John and Corinne) from Coldwell Banker R.M.R.’s Whitby office has made and given away more than 50 hand sanitizers in the last few weeks. Linda was recognized by the Durham Regional Association of Realtors in 2015 for her charitable work, and in 2018 with the board’s Award of Distinction.
Deborah Glover from the Brooklin office delivered 50 Easter bunnies with personalized letters to each client. “I sanitized the bunny prior to putting it and the letter in a sealed clear bag,” she says. “The bag was placed on the front step, the doorbell was rung and I retreated to the driveway or sidewalk. When the doors opened, the look of joy was evident on every person’s face. With most people being home all the time, with little or no connection to the outside world, the opportunity to see a familiar face was often overwhelming. There were tears, distance hugs and in all cases, a deep sense of gratitude. I have never had this type of reception from any other pop-by campaign and it’s hard to say who was more touched by the meeting, the client or me.”
Kathryn Johnson from the Lindsay office told Lackie she was somehow able to find three large boxes of toilet paper (each containing 48 rolls), which she donated to women’s shelters in Lindsay.
“It was a small gesture of an everyday essential item that I for one have never thought to donate before,” she says. “It’s usually toys, clothing or food, the more common items.
But I realized it is an item most certainly overlooked and taken for granted in our regular everyday lives. We realize in times like these when our worlds are turned upside down what an enormous effect on how low and desperate one can feel without having such a basic essential.”
