(From left to right) Mark Sussman, MAI, 2008 Metro
New Jersey Chapter president; Paula Sabreen, executive
director of FAMILYConnections, and Neil Jasey, president of FAMILYConnections, pose with the Metro New
Jersey Chapter’s $3,500 FAMILYConnections donation.
Members of the Metro New Jersey Chapter teeing off at
the chapter’s annual fundraiser.
Metro New Jersey Chapter
Charity: FAMILYConnections
Web Site: www.familyconnectionsnj.org
The Metro New Jersey Chapter
has a strong record of giving back to
the community. Over the past several
years, the chapter has hosted an annual charity golf outing, donating
proceeds to various charitable organizations. The chapter’s most recent
golf outing—held June 11, 2008, at
the New Jersey National Golf Club
in Basking Ridge, N.J.—included a
lunch and dinner reception as well as
an awards ceremony. Each year, the
current chapter president chooses the
charity. In 2008, Chapter President
Mark Sussman, MAI, chose FAMILY
Connections as the beneficiary. Previous golf outing beneficiaries included
the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation and the Children’s
Cardiomyopathy Foundation.
FAMILYConnections, a nonprofit
community-based counseling and family services agency, has more than 30
programs delivering professional counseling, skills building and prevention
services to more than 4,400 children,
adults and families each year.
Event organizers John Musnuff,
MAI, and Debra Miller, executive
director, were instrumental in making
the event a success by lining up several corporate sponsors, raising more
than $3,500 for FAMILYConnections.
Each corporate contributor sponsored a hole at the golf course, which
included an advertising sign at both
the sponsored hole and at the dinner
reception as well as an acknowledgement in the chapter’s newsletter. This
year’s sponsors included Appraisal
Consultants; Gagliano & Company;
Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis,
LLP; McGuire Associates, LLC; Professional Appraisal Associates; Sterling,
DiSanto & Associates; Welsh Chester
Galiney Matone, Inc.; Western Technologies Group; and Lasser Sussman
and Associates, LLC.
“The 5th Annual Metro New Jersey
Chapter Golf Outing was another
one of our many successful events.
Between our members and guests
who came out to play golf, and the
generosity of our sponsors, we were
able to raise more than $3,500 for
FAMILYConnections,” says Sussman.
Planning for the 2009 charity
outreach has already begun with the
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
chosen as the benefactor. Although
details need to be worked out, the
chapter plans to mix things up this
year. Instead of the annual golfing
outing, the Metro New Jersey Chapter
is exploring other venues that potentially may attract a larger audience
including holding the event at a local
baseball game.
South Carolina Chapter
Charity: Aldersgate Special Needs Ministry
Web Site: www.umcsc.org/aldersgate.
html
At the beginning of 2008, Ronda
Parrish, SRA, and Brantley Clark, chairs
of the South Carolina Chapter’s public
relations committee, thought long
and hard about a community service
project that would be the right fit for
their chapter. They wanted a project
that would accomplish several goals
including gaining chapter recognition
and supporting the community in a
way that would somehow relate to real
estate. Based on the criteria, the
Aldersgate Special Needs Ministry
turned out to be the perfect match.
To help developmentally disabled
adults live independently, the
Aldersgate Special Needs Ministry
builds homes for special needs adults.
The organization’s mission is to provide
the highest quality of life and the
greatest level of independence for each
resident by teaching life skills and offering work experience.
“The lack of housing for adults with
developmental disabilities is at a crisis
stage with growing numbers of aging
parents struggling to care for their
special needs adult children,” says Judy
Weathers, Aldersgate chair.
The committee’s goal was to
contribute $5,000 to Aldersgate—an
amount equal to the chapter’s 2008
public relations committee budget.
Parrish, Clark and the entire public
relations committee worked tirelessly
throughout the year raising contributions. Through raffles at quarterly
chapter meetings, a silent auction at
the fall meeting and personal contributions from chapter members, the
committee more than doubled their
goal, raising more than $10,200 for
Aldersgate.
Not only did Aldersgate meet the
chapter’s criteria, it also had a personal
connection. The funds raised went
