REALTORS helping their community
Here’s an example of how REALTORS help people in their community. Most of us do things on a smaller level (I give a % of my commision to the Children Miricle Network) but every year we acknowledge people that are big thinkers!
Life stops when a child—or any family member—is diagnosed with cancer. Yet everyday bills still must be paid. And H. Burton Foster knows first hand what a struggle that can be.
Twelve years ago, Foster’s son Matthew developed an aggressive tumor when he was a 15-year-old high school sophomore. When a local cancer institute said it couldn’t offer further treatment, Foster and his wife Debra organized a fundraiser to afford a last-ditch “miracle” cure at a Houston clinic. They raised more than $90,000. Unfortunately, Matthew died less than a month later, a few days shy of his 18th birthday.
With money left over from the fundraiser, the Fosters started the Matthew Foster Foundation to help pay for daily expenses for area families with children who have cancer.
“We saw many families struggle with day-to-day bills. Matt had a positive impact on people so we wanted to do something positive in his memory,” says Foster, a father of seven other children who switched from computer consulting to real estate sales five years ago to gain more job flexibility to work on the foundation.
Foster, real estate salesperson with Century 21 Gold Standard in East Aurora, N.Y., 15 miles south of Buffalo, is one of 10 finalists for Realtor® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards.
Social workers identify families in need. Each receives up to $2,500 when their child is ill. Families whose children die are eligible for another $2,500 to $5,000 to cover funeral costs. To date, 250 families have received $260,000. “You are truly angels. No one has ever done anything as kind for us. This has lifted a huge weight off our shoulders,” says a thank-you note from a family whose son Gary died at age 16.
This year the foundation hopes to raise $100,000 through three annual events: a golf tournament, gala, and car raffle. The foundation also donates $1,000 annually to a senior at Matthew’s high school who’s overcome a major challenge and is headed to college.
Besides serving as foundation president, Foster volunteers at the area hospital that provided Matthew’s care. “Burt’s one of those people who will do anything and go anywhere (to help),” says board member Kurt Kaul. “Having the foundation keeps the memory of Matt with us,” Foster says. “We’re trying to help others facing a difficult time. That’s what God teaches us to do.”
The Good Neighbor Awards is a grant program recognizing REALTORS® who make exceptional volunteer contributions to their communities.
