New furnishings, paint, cabinets, kitchens, flooring and many other home improvements greeted Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth clients when they returned home from school and work recently. The renovation and upgrades to eight NPHY Independent Living Program residences and two NPHY Emergency Shelters were made through the generosity of associates and business partners of Keller Williams Realty Las Vegas to the nonprofit’s aging properties.
The KWLV team ‒ 210 local Keller Williams Realty Las Vegas agents ‒ chose to volunteer their time helping homeless youth through NPHY for the real estate firm’s national RED Day service project for the fifth year in a row. Introduced in 2009, RED Day – Renew, Energize and Donate – is the second Thursday of May, and company associates around the world spend the day away from work assisting worthy community organizations and causes. KWLV closed its Village Square office (Fort Apache Rd. and Sahara Ave.) on May 11 for the project, the culmination of months of work and planning.
The Las Vegas RED Day project continued improvements KWLV did previously to the more than 40-year-old NPHY transitional housing units. The effort also kicked off major remodeling programs on two units which recently shifted to increase NPHY’s Emergency Shelter facilities due to the growing numbers of homeless youth within the community.
“We’ve loved partnering with such a worthwhile organization as Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth with more than 14,000 homeless teens in our valley,” said Traci Human, chairperson of the KWLV Culture Committee. “Five years ago we started with cleaning and stocking NPHY’s storage facility. Our efforts have continued to grow, and we have been blessed with generous donations from our affiliates, vendors and clients. We love reaching out to them and asking if they would like to spend the day with us ‘to give back where we live,’ and if they would consider donating a complete house painting, kitchen or new flooring. We are always amazed with their generosity.”
Specific work at the housing sites and emergency shelters involved advanced landscaping, substantial roof repairs and kitchen remodels, shower and bathroom facilities repair, new furniture and bedding where needed, and new tile flooring, appliances, windows, faucets and fixtures. The KWLV team also made improvements to maximize space usage by providing lockable storage cabinetry at both emergency shelters.
In addition to KWLV associates, some of the participating partners included European Bath Kitchen Tile and Stone, Bridge Home Inspections, New Gen Painting, Mr. Tile, Cabinet Medics, Castle and Cooke Mortgage, Richmond American Homes, Cross Country Mortgage, Raysco, Best Mattress, Movement Mortgage, Atlas Marble & Granite, National Home Warranty, MC Plumbing, Accent Cabinetry & Flooring, Home Service Inc, Chicago Title, Access Services Group, Women’s Council of Realtors, ACH Heating & Cooling, and AREAA (Asian Real Estate Association of America). Human also acknowledged participants’ appreciation for Giuseppe’s Bar & Grill for feeding hundreds of RED Day volunteers.
“Each year we look forward to partnering with NPHY, and we love how this effort has developed and grown. Though only one day, we spend months planning so we can truly make a meaningful impact for the kids,” said Human of the five-year NPHY relationship.
Human and her committee toured the NPHY residences in early March, taking notes and measurements of what items needed replacement or repair, and then began fundraising. “The response from our associates and business partners was tremendous with more than $35,000 in cash and products donated and everyone’s invaluable time and expertise on RED Day,” she said.
“We continue to be overwhelmed and so appreciative of the generous support and commitment of the Keller Williams Realty Las Vegas associates and their business partners making a difference for our youth clients,” said Arash Ghafoori, NPHY executive director. “It means so much for these youth, not only to come home and find everything new and improved but also that so many people want to help them given their various life situations. We couldn’t make these upgrades for our youth without the Keller Williams team.”
