As COVID-19 continues to put pressure on the province’s already stretched shelter system, the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) announced it is donating $480,000 to shelters and shelter-based charities through the Ontario Realtors Care Foundation. The donation will reach the most vulnerable populations through more than 50 shelters and food banks across Ontario.
“With so many local shelters struggling to respond to increased demand, new procedures and outbreaks, we needed to do something to help,” says OREA president Sean Morrison. “It is our hope that this donation will help shelters and food banks through this incredibly difficult time.”
The funding will be distributed by the foundation, an organization that has supported shelter-based organizations throughout Ontario since 1977 and receives its funding through the generosity of Ontario’s Realtors. In 2019 alone, the foundation raised more than $1.2 million for shelter-based organizations.
The donation is being redirected from OREA’s one-time $5-million grant to the Ontario Realtors Care Foundation made earlier this year, facilitating a faster and direct distribution of funds at a time of need. The funds will be directed to local charities by OREA’s 37 member boards.
