Connect Magazine September/October 2018 | Page 17

Community ROYAL PALM COAST REALTOR® ASSOCIATION WHO SPEND TIME OUTSIDE OF CONTRIBUTING TO THE BETTERMENT OF THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA COMMUNITY Once a month, the Association’s Housing Foundation offers a FREE Homebuyer Education Course to the community at the Fort Myers Education Center. Our volunteer members give up their Saturday to educate potential first-time homebuyers all about the process. The course focuses not only on purchasing the home, but also addresses issues about keeping the home. The Housing Foundation provides this event in conjunction with the Home Ownership Resource Center of Lee County. Attendees who complete the 8-hour course will have satisfied the educational requirements for down payment assistance, Florida Housing Finance Corporation and the NSP Program. Tracy VanLandschooot of Mortgage 1 has been involved with the Cape Coral Caring Center long before the Association chose the organization as the 2018 charity of choice. Tracy serves as a board director and treasurer for the Cape Coral Caring Center. The Caring Center helps people in Cape Coral who do not have sufficient resources to maintain a suitable lifestyle by providing food and services. Last year, the Association supported Valerie’s House as the charity of choice. Valerie’s House provides open- ended peer support groups and activities for children to heal after a significant loss in their life. At Christmas time, Joanna Rowell and JJ Jones of Jones and Co. Realty dropped off Christmas presents collected for the kids at Valerie’s House. RPCRA.ORG | SEP/OCT 2018 17