Two RE/MAX Affiliates Win 2022 NAR Good Neighbor Award for Community Service

RE/MAX affiliates blend a knack for real estate and a passion for giving back to operate a business rooted in community. Dennis Curtin and Heather Griesser LaPierre, both members of the RE/MAX network, have taken this idea to greater heights.

Curtin and Griesser LaPierre are each recipients of the 2022 National Association of REALTORS® Good Neighbor Award, an accolade that recognizes real estate professionals for the remarkable impact they make in their communities through charitable efforts.

Learn how the two RE/MAX award recipients are fighting food insecurity on a local level.

Dennis Curtin: Mimi’s Pantry

In 2019, Curtin, whose Missouri-based RE/MAX Regional Services owns RE/MAX franchising rights in seven states, established Mimi’s Pantry, a nonprofit food bank that operates like a grocery store to ensure a dignified experience for anyone facing food insecurity.

“Real estate professionals are very involved in all aspects of their community. I started Mimi’s Pantry because I knew that a healthy community involved helping those who were in need. That starts with the basics – feeding those who are food insecure,” Curtin says.

Mimi’s Pantry is no small operation. Curtin partners with large-scale grocers to gather food, and recently started a greenhouse and fruit orchard to grow produce onsite. Plus, Mimi’s Pantry is unique in having commercial refrigerators and freezers, allowing the organization to offer fresh and frozen food in addition to dry and canned goods. Fifty volunteers – plus Curtin – keep the food pantry running smoothly on a daily basis.

“As a child, I grew up watching my Mom give free meals from her deli to those who were struggling to make ends meet. I also realized by working in the grocery business in high school and college that plenty of food spoiled because it didn’t sell in time,” Curtin recalls. “I discovered that the supply of good nutritious food wasn’t the problem; (the issue) was distributing that excess food to people who could use it. That’s what prompted me to start Mimi’s Pantry.”

Since opening its doors in 2019, Mimi’s Pantry has served food to more than 50,000 people.

“REALTORS® are at ground zero in their communities. They not only know home prices and market conditions, but they also instinctively know that to have a successful, vibrant community, they must get involved to support and protect those values,” Curtin shares.

Heather Griesser LaPierre: Kids Against Hunger Philadelphia

Though she is an agent with RE/MAX Preferred Realtors in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, Griesser LaPierre helps families put food on the table locally and globally.

In 2015, Griesser LaPierre founded the nonprofit organization Kids Against Hunger Philadelphia, a member of the international Kids Against Hunger network. Her branch was created to provide meals to those in need in the Greater Philadelphia area.

“I grew up volunteering and it was important to me that my kids knew the importance of helping others and giving back to the community,” Griesser LaPierre says. “When we started [Kids Against Hunger Philadelphia], we had a vision of creating an organization where families, kids and individuals could come together to help others in a fun atmosphere. We always say when you volunteer with us, you come as strangers and leave as friends – and I have met some of my closest friends through this organization.”

She continues, “When you come to pack meals with us, you are actually feeding two types of hunger: The very real hunger of those that will receive our food as well as the hunger within each of us that wants to do more and help others. Together, with a wonderful team of volunteers, we have packed and distributed over 9.5 million meals in just seven years.”

In addition to regular operations, Kids Against Hunger Philadelphia has stepped in during extraneous circumstances to ensure food needs are being met. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 – a time when many schools paused their lunch programs – Griesser LaPierre and her team of volunteers worked overtime to pack more than 350,000 meals per month, including those for school children.

Her charity work has a global reach, too. As devastating events unfolded in Ukraine in early 2022, Greisser LaPierre and Kids Against Hunger Philadelphia packed 200,000 meals for Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Her charity has also been able to help those facing hunger and food insecurity in Haiti, Greece, Puerto Rico and other locations.

Congratulations to Curtin and Griesser LaPierre for each winning a 2022 NAR Good Neighbor Award. They embody the caring nature of RE/MAX affiliates – and the networkwide desire to give back.

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