Realtor.com® invited one of the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2018 Good Neighbors to its offices in Santa Clara, Calif., for a wide-ranging interview about her volunteer efforts on behalf of children living in poverty and women with drug addictions living on the streets.
The inspirational discussion between Ryan O’Hara, CEO of Move Inc., which operates realtor.com®, and REALTOR® Necia Freeman was broadcast live Friday to Move and NAR staff nationwide. Freeman, one of the Good Neighbor Awards honorable mentions this year, founded the Backpacks and Brown Bags Ministry, which provides weekend food to children in need, as well as outreach support to drug-addicted prostitutes in her hometown of Huntington, W.V. In some cases, the women she helps are mothers of the kids receiving food assistance.
As a Good Neighbor Award honorable mention, Freeman will receive a $2,500 grant for Backpacks and Brown Bags. In addition, as one of the 10 Good Neighbor finalists, Freeman was part of the online Web Choice Favorite voting, which took place in September. The voting is made possible by realtor.com®, the primary sponsor of the Good Neighbor Awards. One of three Web Choice favorites, Freeman will receive an additional $1,250 from realtor.com® for Backpacks and Brown Bags.
After being invited to tell her story at the recent meeting of the West Virginia Association of REALTORS®, Freeman’s colleagues donated more than $7,000 to her charity. The donations will go toward her ongoing efforts to provide a backpack of food each Friday for 70 elementary and middle school children and outreach to drug-addicted women to help them choose a path to recovery. She also plans to support new tutoring and counseling programs, as well as meals for the exhausted first responders who handle overdose calls. Read REALTOR® Magazine’s story on Necia Freeman.
The Good Neighbor Awards is funded by primary sponsor realtor.com® and Wells Fargo. The Good Neighbors will be honored at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Boston during the General Session on Saturday, Nov. 3. Visit the Good Neighbor booth outside the Expo. The 2019 Good Neighbor Awards call for entries will open in January and will be due by May 10. Learn about all the 2018 Good Neighbor Award winners and honorable mentions.
