Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 24, 2009
Crye-Leike rolls out fundraiser to assist military families
David Laprad
The Midsouth real estate firm known for its big red “For Sale” signs is taking the color associated with its brand in a new direction. Beginning in July, Crye-Leike is encouraging its Realtors and employees to take part in a Red Fridays campaign to help raise money to support wounded service members and military families.
“The launch of Red Fridays is fitting on so many levels for us, and we’re excited about what this campaign can do to help boost morale and benefit our troops,” Harold Crye, co-founder and CEO of Crye-Leike, says in a press release. “While the current economy has many of us facing challenges, we must not lose sight of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform are making.”
Every Friday, Crye-Leike agents and employees will be seen in red to show support for the troops and raise funds to benefit Operation Homefront. The non-profit agency provides emergency assistance to troops and the families they leave behind. Crye-Leike intends to keep Red Fridays going until all of the troops are home.
“Our offices are stocked with buttons that agents and employees and can purchase for $3 each,” Dick Leike, co-founder and president of Crye-Leike, says in the same press release. “It’s my hope that as our clients and friends see us getting behind a great cause like Operation Homefront, they’ll join us in purchasing buttons and wearing red, too.”
All of the money Crye-Leike raises through Red Fridays will go to Operation Homefront Village, a community where wounded service members and their families can live while the soldier is recuperating. The Village also offers foreclosure prevention classes to military personnel and their families.
According to the Operation Homefront Web site (operationhomefront.net), more than 30,000 service members have been wounded in action. Service members disabled from injuries return home, are discharged from the service and have 30 days to vacate base housing. Then they have to wait, some as long as 18 months, for their VA compensation to begin. During this time, many are recuperating at a medical facility while paying a mortgage. To help these people, Operation Homefront established villages near Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Operation Homefront Villages are comprised of rent-free and fully-furnished apartments. They also feature community centers, space for children to play, computers with special software to accommodate disabilities and counselors to help secure benefit claims, educational assistance and career training.
The housing crisis presents major financial challenges to many military families and has led to an increase in the foreclosure of homes owned by service members, Operation Homefront says on its Web site. Therefore, the agency provides emergency financial assistance with mortgage and rent payments for families of deployed or wounded warriors. In some cases, Operation Homefront helps to modify and renegotiate loans to create a reasonable mortgage payment and ensure families can continue to live in their homes.
Crye-Leike regional vice president Rob Hatchett initially proposed Red Fridays.
“I read an email about how Southwest Airlines had done a Red Fridays campaign and thought it’d be perfect for us,” says Hatchett. “Our company color is red and everyone loves supporting our troops, so I started searching for an organization (with which we’d) feel comfortable and came across Operation Homefront.”
Hatchett says the response has been phenomenal.
“We’ve got 3,000 agents and 800 employees. I originally thought we’d need 2,500 pins, which would come to a $7,500 donation,” he says. “Now we have offices asking us for more pins. One agent wants 50 pins to hand out to clients, and I received an e-mail from someone whose wife’s company wants to buy some, too, so I think we’re going to have to place a second order.”
Hatchett believes Crye-Leike can make a significant and lasting difference in the lives of returning troops.
“The problems many of us face in our day to day lives don’t come close to the struggles our service men and women face,” says Hatchett. “I especially like the idea that our dollars will be supporting a program that works to ensure returning service members who own a home don’t lose it to foreclosure.”
Letters from people Operation Homefront has helped, published on the Web site, express their gratitude and demonstrate the importance of the agency’s work.
“While sitting here looking at my two children, I realized the amount of support you’ve given us. No words could ever express my gratitude to you and all of the people that have helped my family,” writes Pam Payeur, the wife of a wounded warrior. “My family and I have been through hard times, and if it wasn’t for everything you did for us, I don’t know how we would’ve made it. I owe you a million thank yous.”
A letter signed by an Army Major also thanks Operation Homefront for its help. “I’m deep in Afghanistan taking care of our soldiers, Afghan nationals and coalition soldiers, and it makes me feel better to know special people have come into our lives and helped with our family’s problems,” he writes. “I’m a physician’s assistant working in the field, and because of you, I can do my job and not worry about my child.
“May God bless you all. I saw a child yesterday with a brain tumor. We’re taking her back to a U.S. military hospital to take of care her. I think there’s a purpose for me here, so again, thank you for your continued support.”
Hatchett believes Red Fridays also serve as a reminder that the U.S. is still at war.
“We’ve been in Afghanistan eight years, so it’s easy to forget we still have soldiers on foreign soil and get caught up in everyday life,” he says. “Thankfully, the deaths are down from where they were, but there are still American men and women fighting over there.”
To join the cause and support Red Fridays, phone or stop by your nearest Crye-Leike office.
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