Area REALTORS® Assist Local Elderly



Area REALTORS® Assist Local Elderly

REALTORS® from Exit Realty Bob Lamb & Associates were among the 80+ volunteers who participated in MTAR's Senior Assistance Project on National Make a Difference Day on October 24th.
For the 13th consecutive year, the Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS® organized local efforts to assist senior citizens on National Make a Difference Day, which was held on Saturday, October 24th.

Local REALTORS® partnered with various local businesses, civic groups, and service-minded individuals to help the elderly living in Rutherford and Cannon Counties by doing yard work, cleaning houses, making home repairs, and performing other various other helpful chores.

“The Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS® is committed to promoting homeownership and to being actively involved in improving our member communities” explained 2009 MTAR President Tim Wilson of Bob Parks Realty.

“Our work on National Make a Difference Day is a great way to meet both of those goals. Not only are we improving the quality of life for these senior citizens, but by performing chores which they may have difficulty doing on their own, we’re enabling them to remain independent and happy homeowners.”

For 13 years, MTAR has partnered with the St. Clair Street Senior Center in Murfreesboro on the “Senior Assistance Program”; St. Clair members submit requests each summer to have various work done at their homes, and MTAR organizes volunteers to fulfill those requests.

This year, MTAR and its members were joined in their efforts by Esvin Landscaping, Murfreesboro Little Theatre, North Boulevard Church of Christ, MTSU’s Sigma Nu Fraternity, Woodbury Methodist Church’s Men’s Group, and several individual volunteers from throughout the community.

Together, the over 80 volunteers helped more than 100 senior citizens with jobs ranging from washing windows and raking leaves to cutting down trees and hauling away old appliances. In addition, each senior received a free lunch donated by Adams Place, Coconut Bay Café, Demos Steak & Spaghetti, Kirkenburt’s Smokehouse, Mike’s Catfish Café, or Toot’s.

“It was great working on this,” stated Ashley Wagener, a community volunteer who trimmed bushes and delivered lunches for the project. “It was a wonderful way to contribute to my community without having to take on the responsibility of a long-term commitment”.

MTAR 2009 Public Relations Chairman Dale Patterson of Keller Williams Realty noted that volunteers overwhelmingly have a positive response to their experiences.

“Every year, the volunteers talk about how much fun they had meeting the seniors and helping them out. These seniors really appreciate the help that our workers bring to them, and the thank-you cards and phone-calls that we get afterwards are so touching. Make a Difference Day is really such a wonderful project, and MTAR is thrilled to have so many members, partners, and community volunteers who see the value it holds for the community. I’m already looking forward to next year.”

Requests for assistance on Make a Difference Day are made through the St. Clair Street Senior Center in Murfreesboro.

For more information about local efforts, contact MTAR Community Affairs Manager Bob Roberts at bob@mtar.org. For more information on the national efforts of National Make a Difference Day, visit www.usaweekend.com/diffday/. Make a Difference Day in 2010 will held be October 23rd.