Business Collaborates With Brittany's Hope To Build Homes
As Elizabethtown resident Naomi Fredlund anticipated the five-year anniversary of her company, Life Changes Realty Group, she envisioned a celebration that could somehow involve all of the business's clients. One agent suggested doing a larger-scale version of the pay-it-forward program that Life Changes operates, and Fredlund loved the idea.
Through pay-it-forward, Life Changes real estate agents donate a portion of their commission earned when a deal is closed to the charity of the client's choice. According to Fredlund, that has led to more than $350,000 being donated to various charities thus far. A fundraising endeavor independent of pay-it-forward, however, would be new for the company.
When it came to selecting a recipient, Fredlund immediately thought of Brittany's Hope, an Elizabethtown-based nonprofit that aims to help orphaned and at-risk children through international special needs adoption grants and humanitarian initiatives. "Being an adoptive mom myself, their mission obviously resonates with me," said Fredlund. "And another thing I love about Brittany's Hope is that every penny goes to the children and not to administrative costs."
Fredlund serves on the board of Brittany's Hope and approached executive director Mai-Lynn Sahd about potential projects that Life Changes could help with. Sahd suggested building a house for a family in need. "It was the perfect opportunity for us as a real estate company - a perfect fit," Fredlund said.
Fredlund and her colleagues set a goal of raising $7,500 - a bit more than the approximately $5,000 needed to build one house through Brittany's Hope in Vietnam. Through advertising the initiative on social media, sharing with clients, and participating as a team in the Brittany's Hope 2018 Walk of Love fundraiser, Life Changes raised nearly $15,000.
That meant Life Changes was able to contribute toward building homes for two families. In May, Fredlund and her husband and two adult children accompanied a group of Elizabethtown College students and professors, as well as other community members, on a trip to Vietnam to help with the building project. Sahd noted that the organization is judicious in the building process, allowing international volunteers to contribute to some parts of the project while still ensuring that the work is done by local residents so as not to take away economic opportunities. Anyone whom the organization builds a home for contributes something - whether labor, finances, or something else - toward completing the project.
One of the homes built was for Miss Lieu, a young widow with two children living in a mud house with a collapsed roof. She had originally approached Brittany's Hope about needing to place her children in one of the organization's homes for children, as she was lacking means to repair the home, pay medical bills from her husband's illness, and cover living expenses. Instead, Brittany's Hope was able to build Miss Lieu a new home, complete with a sturdy roof to endure the rainy season as well as a bathroom, which the old house did not have.
In spite of the language barrier, Fredlund connected with Miss Lieu and her children. "The hope (Miss Lieu) had was amazing to see. When I was there, she was glowing," Fredlund shared. "One of the translators, (Le Thi Tu) Hong, said, 'Their lives are forever changed,' and that really stuck with me."
Fredlund also got to meet the two children that she sponsors through the Brittany's Hope child sponsorship program. "It was one of the highlights of my life to see those families," described Fredlund.
In the future, Fredlund would like to return to Vietnam with her colleagues and others interested in helping. "Brittany's Hope went above and beyond. I've been on a lot of trips and very few of them were run as well as Brittany's Hope," remarked Fredlund. "My goal is to help other businesses that want to give back."
For more information on Brittany's Hope, readers may visit http://www.brittanyshope.org. Registration is open for the 2019 Walk of Love Cross Country 5K and Fun Walk, which is set to take place on Saturday, Sept. 14.
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