St. Albert realtors, brokers rally for food bank

To help the St. Albert Food Bank cope with the increased pressure arising from COVID-19, a team of local realtors and brokers decided to switch gears to focus on giving back to the local non-profit.

Warmer weather usually signals the start of the busy season for real estate, but because of the pandemic, the expected market recovery just didn't materialize, said Ian Robertson, team leader for Robertson Real Estate Group with RE/MAX Professionals.

"It became very evident that the answer wasn't going to be in our phones," Robertson said.

Tired of feeling helpless about the situation, Robertson said the group decided to focus its energy into something positive by launching a matching grant fundraiser online for the St. Albert Food Bank. Those interested can visit stalberthelps.ca to donate.

Donations blew past the group's original $10,000 goal within the first two weeks, with people giving amounts anywhere from $20 to $500. To date, more than $11,500 has been raised for the local food bank. 

"The response we've had within the community here has been honest to goodness overwhelming," he said. 

The Robertson Group is now launching a second wave of matching donations to reach their new goal of $20,000 by April 30. To spread the positivity around, Robertson said he's also started a Facebook group called St. Albert Helps where people can post ideas on how to bring the community together.  

"Canadians have gone through some incredibly tough times in the last four years, and yet, we still see this willingness to want to help other people," he said. "That really is inspiring."

RE/MAX Professionals in St. Albert is hosting a bottle drive for the food bank this Friday, April 24.

Send them your address ahead of time at [email protected] or direct message them on Facebook to have your bottles picked up between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. All proceeds go to the St. Albert Food Bank. 

Shandrie Lewis, real estate agent and broker at RE/MAX Professionals, said their donation drive two weeks ago saw more than 1,500 pounds of food and $1,000 in cash donations collected for the food bank in just two hours.

Now it's all hands on deck for the bottle drive, Lewis said. Based on the response so far, the brokerage plans to use "any trailer or truck we can find" to collect donations.

"We feel like we're going to be raising thousands of dollars just from this bottle drive," Lewis said. "I have to say, I am overwhelmed with the people of St. Albert who are just so willing to donate and grateful that we're doing this. People are so kind right now, it's actually really heartwarming."

Suzan Krecsy, executive director at the St. Albert Food Bank and Community Village, said the recent fundraising efforts from the community have been "amazing."

"The community of St. Albert needs to be very, very proud of themselves. It's simply amazing how they have come forward to help, and it's very humbling for me to see how they've wrapped their arms around our families. It's just incredible," she said.

Funds raised will be used to purchase more food from their suppliers to meet increased demand, Krecsy said – and some necessary items are more expensive than others.

"I just spent $10,000 on purchasing food; $1,500 of that was just on baby formula alone," she said. 

While government financial supports have been helpful for some, many will need help adjusting to a new normal once that support ends. The food bank's main concern right now is how to meet the needs of their clients over the long term, Krecsy said.

The non-profit is always looking for food donations and volunteers, including some drivers who would be available to help drop off supplies to St. Albert homes. If interested, people are encouraged to reach out to the food bank's volunteer co-ordinator Diane Bouchard by phone or email at [email protected].