In a monumental – and incredibly moving – moment during the Opening General Session of the 2024 RE/MAX R4 Convention, it was announced that RE/MAX affiliates have officially surpassed $200 million in donations to Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals. Applause, of course, roared.
This new donation total – $209 million – represents the hard work and generosity of compassionate RE/MAX agents, teams, and brokers over the past 32 years. Since 1992, RE/MAX has been a proud partner of CMN Hospitals, with the RE/MAX network supporting and donating to more than 170 affiliate CMN Hospitals across the U.S. and Canada.
On stage, in front of a crowd of nearly 5,000 R4 attendees, Mikari Tarpley – the 2024 CMN Hospitals Patient Ambassador – performed an awe-inspiring rendering of Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” It was an homage to her time on Broadway, when she played Young Nala in “The Lion King.” It was also a celebration of her own victory, having beat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2020.
While fighting illness, Tarpley received world-class care from her local affiliate CMN Hospital in Atlanta. It’s fitting that her mother, Tomaree Tarpley, is the manager of the nearby RE/MAX Premier brokerage, a real estate powerhouse (headed by Broker/Owner Torrence Ford) that supports CMN Hospitals all year round. Each August, for example, Ford and his brokerage get involved with the RE/MAX Month of Miracles and find creative ways to donate money to CMN Hospitals. For the past few years, this took the shape of a charitable concert shining a light on local musicians.
“When I had my diagnosis, my RE/MAX family was there [for me] from the start,” Tarpley told the audience.
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Supporting CMN Hospitals at R4 and beyond
An event many R4 attendees look forward to each year, the CMN Hospitals Live Auction and Ice Cream Social is a chance for those actively involved with the charitable partnership – or soon to be! – to meet like-minded members of the network, raise money to support kids in need and get inspired to give back.
During this year’s event in Las Vegas, participants raised a whopping $100,000 for CMN Hospitals.
“By giving back to CMN Hospitals, we set an example in our communities,” says Candy Meyers, an agent with RE/MAX One in La Plata, Maryland, who has been involved with CMN Hospitals since she joined RE/MAX two decades ago. “I’m so happy to have found a network of agents who share my passion for giving back.”
Meyers and her colleague Lisa Wills are always up to something to support their two local affiliate CMN Hospitals. In recent years, through initiatives like “Dunk-a-Hunk” and “Bears of Love,” they’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars that directly funded lifesaving NICU equipment, transport ventilators, groundbreaking research and so much more.
In Missouri, Traci Palmero – an agent with RE/MAX Best Choice outside of St. Louis – shares the same passion for community. When she joined RE/MAX nine years ago, she got started with the RE/MAX Miracle Home and Miracle Property Program right away and, following her first closed transaction, donated to her local affiliate CMN Hospital.
Now, just three months into 2024, Palmero has already sold 14 “Miracle Homes” this year – properties where she commits to donating to kids in need after the closed transaction.
“I have kids of my own. When they were younger, we’d have the occasional trip to our local kids’ hospital, and they’d provide exemplary service. Supporting CMN Hospitals is supporting other families in need of care for their kids,” Palmero says.
“It’s a blessing to be able to give back to the community I love so much.”
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Written by LEAH CURTIS
