By In our blog below, Gino Blefari, founder and CEO of Intero Real Estate Services, discusses the Intero Foundation and the $1,367,365 donation to local charities. A lot of Intero Realtors have donated large sums for the Intero Foundation to decipher which nonprofits will be most receptive and deserving of the funds. The Foundation has made an impact close to home, and I was lucky enough to see the benefits that it brings to the community.
Serving over 375 children with help from over 400 volunteers, Intero Foundation donated $15,000 to Hollister’s annual nonprofit Small Steps Shopping Trip. Every year before the chilly weather starts kicking into full gear, underprivileged children get the opportunity to shop at Hollister’s Target and Payless Shoe Source to find shoes and a jacket within a budget.
At 6 AM I was all registered and lined up with the other shopper volunteers waiting to be paired up with a boy or girl ranging from all ages under 18. I was matched up with a grateful 7th grader from a local middle school, and he was very prepared with a list of items he wanted to get with correct sizes. He scooped out the stores the night before with his mom to see all that he can buy and get out in a jiffy. By the end of our trip he was beginning to look like Santa Clause with his shopping bags full of two pairs of shoes, two pairs of pants, a winter jacket, and two packages of socks. He was prepared for a cold winter, but you can tell his heart was warm with love and thankfulness by his smiles.
After we parted ways, you cannot help but get a warm fuzzy feeling inside that makes your eyes teary. I might not have been able to donate $15,000 for Small Steps to impact hundreds of children, but I sure made a difference to one child. I want to thank the Intero Foundation for not only making such a generous donation to a repeating successful event, but for the opportunity to personally change a life.
