In the aftermath of 9/11, Minneapolis Realtor Ruth Johnson co-founded Homes for Heroes as a way of thanking the countless people who provided aid following the attacks, including the firefighters, police officers and EMS workers who died in the line of duty at the twin towers.
The company expressed its gratitude through its Hero Rewards program, which provided a check to first responders, active members of the military, veterans, health care professionals and teachers who bought or sold a home through the program. The recipient was able to use the money however they saw fit.
In the 20 years since its launch, HFH has awarded almost $95 million to more than 52,000 homebuyers and sellers across the U.S.
Real Estate Partners broker Diane Burke is one of the handful of real estate agents who is introducing the program to Chattanooga.
While the sacrifices of thousands of individuals motivated Johnson to establish HFH, Burke says the selfless contributions of a single person inspired her to become an HFH specialist in 2020: her husband, retired firefighter Tim Burke.
She tears up as she explains why her spouse is a hero.
“Tim is very passionate about helping others. He saved homes, rescued children and cuts people out of cars. He did this despite the emotional toll of seeing suicides and watching children die.”
To ensure the latter would never happen to his family, Burke’s husband taught their then 2-year-old daughter how to safely escape their home in the event of a housefire.
“He clapped and said, ‘You’re trapped in her bedroom! What do you?’ She said, ‘I touch the door to see if it’s hot, daddy!’ Then he said, ‘It’s hot. Now what do you do?’ And she said, ‘I’m crawling on my belly, daddy!’
“My husband is a true hero.”
Burke learned about the HFH through a local policeman. After becoming her first client to participate in the program, the officer purchased a lawn mower with his rewards check.
The money, which totaled $1,972, was drawn from Burke’s commission for the transaction.
Now, each time Burke assists a client who works in one of the professions HFH serves, she sends 30% of her commission to the company, which keeps a small portion for its nonprofit foundation and sends the rest to Burke’s homebuyer or seller.
Since many of Burke’s clients are unaware of HFH and its rewards program, she often volunteers the information as a way of helping them recover money they might need for moving expenses, repairs or home upgrades, she says.
“One or two clients have tried to refuse the money, but I tell them it’s my way of saying, ‘Thank you for everything you do.’”
Real Estate Partners agent Christa French also contributes 30% of her commission to HFH when she has a client who qualifies.
Like Burke, a single individual inspired French to participate: her father, Vietnam veteran and former Hamilton County juvenile probation officer Will Lassetter.
“My father lost friends in the war. Although he doesn’t talk about what he experienced there, he came home with a desire to serve others. Going into juvenile probation was a way for him to help children who were in combat situations at home.
“A lot of his kids were in single-parent families, so he’d have to sit down with the mom or dad or grandmother who was raising the child and explain how they were going to get through their situation.
“Even though his job weighed on him, he poured a lot into those kids. Now when we’re out to dinner and one of them sees him, they’ll approach him and say, ‘I made it! I finished school! I have a job!”
One of the features of the HFH rewards program Burke and French appreciate the most is the ability of the recipients to spend the money on their greatest needs.
Burke recalls selling a home to a police officer whose daughter was born prematurely and then spent a year in a hospital. When the officer and his wife brought their child to their newly purchased home, they used the money to decorate her room.
French recounts how a couple that was preparing to adopt foster children with a background of trauma used their check to prepare their new house for a larger family.
In each case, HFH awarded the money to the buyer not for a specific heroic act but to express gratitude for what they do day to day, Burke says.
“It’s for the police officer who engages children in the streets and the firefighter who gives children stuffed animals at the scene of a wreck,” Burke says.
“And it’s for the teacher who spends her own money on supplies for her classroom and then buys a house with a leaky pipe,” French adds. “The Home for Heroes check can pay for the repair.”
To date, Burke and French have returned $130,557 of their commissions on home sales to 67 local heroes. In 2021 alone, they returned $57,498 to 28 health care professionals, police officers, teachers and members of the military, making them the second largest contributors in Tennessee and placing them 23rd nationally.
Now they’re challenging other Realtors to join them in honoring local heroes.
“I’ve met some resistance because some people think Homes for Heroes is a referral program,” Burke says. “But it’s not. It’s a way of giving back to your community.”