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The Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation donated $44,665 in 2018 to different non-profit organizations that help homeless and low-income individuals and families in Silicon Valley. Funds this year also went to scholarships for graduating seniors from public high schools in the region.

The Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation is a trust which makes grants available to organizations from donations by REALTORS® and affiliate members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR). In addition to voluntary contributions from members, grants are funded by proceeds from SILVAR’s district fundraisers. The Los Altos-Mountain View District annual pumpkin auction in October raised $5,500, which the district donated to the foundation. Net proceeds of $2,389.75 from the Los Gatos-Saratoga District’s annual bocce ball tournament were also donated to the foundation.

“With rising home prices and rents, these are hard times for many residents. More people are being displaced and are homeless, poverty is on the rise in Silicon Valley. We thank our members for being so generous in supporting the foundation this year,” said Eileen Giorgi, president of the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation. “With our members’ continued support and contributions to the communities where they work and live, we are thankful that we are able to continue our commitment to the welfare and prosperity of these communities.”

The 2018 grant recipients include Adolescent Counseling Services, which provides a network of skilled family therapists and support groups for teens and young adults in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties; East Palo Alto Kids Foundation, which promotes educational opportunities for students in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park; Westwind 4-H Riding for the Handicapped, which provides children with disabilities the opportunity to have fun while improving their coordination and strengthening their muscles; Youth Community Service, which provides service learning and leadership activities to underserved students in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Palo Alto; and Community Services Agency, which provides social services, such as emergency one-time rent and utility financial support, vouchers for clothing, eyeglasses, school supplies, food and more for residents of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.

SILVAR’s districts, through the Charitable Foundation, likewise made donations to local organizations in 2018. The Los Gatos-Saratoga District donated $6,835 and an additional $200 that it raised at the annual District pumpkin auction to the Family Giving Tree’s Operation Reindeer program for holiday gifts, including clothing essentials and food certificates, to needy families and seniors in the community. The Cupertino-Sunnyvale District presented $750 each to West Valley Community Services and Sunnyvale Community Services for their respective backpack programs for low-income students, and $1,250 to the Sunnyvale K9 Unit to provide necessary equipment, like vests for its police dogs. The Los Altos-Mountain View District fall legal update raised $880, which the district donated to Community Services Agency.

In 2018, the Charitable Foundation Scholars Program presented a $1,000 grant to each of 18 graduating seniors from public high schools in Silicon Valley. The foundation has been assisting students with the scholarship grants for the past 19 years, awarding a total of $342,000 in scholarships to date.

The Charitable Foundation also supports further education for U.S. veterans. This year, The John Tripp Silicon Valley REALTOR® Scholarship granted its second $500 award to veterans enrolled at Foothill and DeAnza colleges. In 2016, the foundation presented $25,000 to Foothill-De Anza Foundation, an auxiliary organization of the Foothill-De Anza Community Colleges District for the creation of the endowment. The late John Tripp was a veteran of the Korean War and past president of SILVAR and the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation.