Every year on the second Thursday of May, the Keller Williams headquarters in Austin, Texas, falls silent, as do KW market centers across the country and around the world. Instead of turning on their work computers, thousands of KW associates pull on their work boots and gloves to start the day. From Canada to Paraguay, Spain to Japan, it's a day to get out of the office and into our communities with RED (Renew, Energize, Donate).
A tradition since 2009, RED Day is an opportunity for KW Market Centers to host community-based activities and fundraisers that unite employees behind a common purpose. Over the years, employees have worked together to build homes, plant gardens, distribute food, clean up parks, help animal shelters, and more. The average market center size is made up of over 200 agents, making a huge impact on a global scale.
Connecting through services
KW Fresno Market Center in California has been involved with RED Day since its inception. Over the past 16 years, the center has supported more than a dozen organizations and engaged agents to create proposals that aligned with each organization's interests and concerns. This year, the team volunteered with Live Again Fresno, an organization that supports families living in motels along Parkway Drive.
The group's RED Day activities involve up to 200 agents, who, according to KW Fresno Team Leader Joanna Odabasian, accomplish in one day what it would take them years to accomplish alone. From a cultural standpoint, “serving together creates bonds and makes you feel good,” Joanna says. Their activities help strengthen relationships among team members and within the broader community.
For RED Day 2024, KW Huntsville, Alabama, focused on the Huntsville Learning Center, which provides after-school and summer programs to students with limited opportunities. The office hosted a fundraising Educational Real Estate Symposium ahead of RED Day. The high-profile event, which included the Huntsville mayor and area business leaders, was featured in the local news and raised $5,000 for the RED Day project. Team leader Heather Jones says fundraising exceeded expectations, ultimately raising more than $10,000 to fund the construction of an outdoor pavilion and teaching garden.
Influencing the world
Keller Williams offices are doing the same around the world: In the Czech Republic, agents in Prague planned a day of family-friendly activities to raise funds for a nonprofit focused on newborn care; Fugee, which provides education and services to refugee children, was the focus of KW Malaysia's RED Day; in Uruguay, KW agents and their families cleaned up more than 90 miles of beach, and in Belize, associates from across the country came together to renovate an elementary school facility.
“Keller Williams is a brand that honors its values through this day of service,” says Sarah Doncel, a real estate agent at KW Marbella in Spain, who says that for 2024, her market center is focusing on refurbishing humanitarian agencies and helping feed people in need.
Spreading joy and sunshine
Returning to Austin, KWRI staff worked together to complete a series of projects at Austin Sunshine Camp, an organization that provides a free summer camp experience to young people living near or below the poverty line. From painting shed walls to building fences, more than 130 staff members signed up for the event, and many who couldn't attend in person helped organize and donate to the event. The day began with vibrant team-building activities and a reminder of the lasting impact the day's activities will have on individual children and the broader community.
For KW CEO and President Mark Willis, the company's annual service event is a way to put culture into action and make a tangible impact beyond the real estate business. “We don't just talk about the change we want to see in our communities, we take action to make that change happen,” Mark said.