Call Realty investment pays dividends in community

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By McKay Allen, Guest Contributor
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August 17, 2009 — The employees at Call Realty were more than a little stunned.

It was just a regular morning at the Spokane Valley home office when the boss called a staff meeting out of the blue. But instead of going over listings, clients or customer service, on this day, company owner Pam Call-Morris of the Ponderosa Ward in the Spokane East Stake wanted to talk about something else entirely.

She stood up and gave each of her employees - most of them LDS - an envelope. Inside each of those envelopes was $250. "Then with the money she'd given us she wanted us to each choose something, or find a way to give it back to the community," recalls Call Realty employee Adam Cunningham of the Painted Hills Ward, Spokane East Stake.

A few members of the Spokane Valley Call Realty Team, left to right: Terry Dahlke, Carolyn Leppert, Brittany Paulus, and Adam Cunningham. Photo by Dennis West.

Bottom line: They could take the money as long as they didn't use the money for themselves or their family. All of Call Realty's employees had to donate the gift to someone or something worthwhile. They could pick a charity, a person, a group-they simply had to maximize the money and use it for good.

"I was just a little overwhelmed at how I would try to spend it," said Cunningham.

Fellow employee Carolyn Leppert of the Ponderosa Ward in the Spokane East Stake felt the same way, "The first thing I thought was 'Oh my gosh, who?'"

Leppert says she really struggled with how to distribute the money. She eventually decided to donate it to the Second Harvest Food Bank.

"For every $100 in cash they get they can purchase $1,000 worth of food to feed the community," Leppert said.

Leppert's donation alone bought over 1,600 pounds of food.

Cunningham donated his money to Hearth Homes of Spokane. It's now being used to provide everything from education to housing for those in need.

Two other employees pooled their money and donated the $500 to the Spokane Neighborhood Action Program (SNAP), a group that helps Spokane's homeless population and low-income families.

Yet another employee donated her money to the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.

Another employee bought discount clothing - almost $1,600 worth - and then donated the items to the clothing bank at Spokane Valley Partners.

"It feels great to have the money and you know the only thing you're going do with it is make somebody happy," Cunningham said. "It's a way to take the focus off of yourself."

So, while Call Realty knows this one act of giving won't change the world, it did, for a while anyway, change them. As they figured out how to spend their $250 bonus, they discovered what the Savior meant in Matthew 10:39 when He spoke of finding our lives by losing them in service to others.

And Call-Morris, the boss who started the whole thing, said it went so well, they plan on a future donation drive - as another surprise bonus for the community.

Want to help? The nonprofit agencies that benefitted from the Call Realty program Realty program could use additional help in the form of monetary donations and volunteer assistance. To find out more, call the contact numbers listed here:

Second Harvest of the Inland Northwest - 509-533-9454

Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery - 509-535-3155

Hearth Homes - 509-926-6492

Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs - 509-456-7111

Spokane Valley Partners (clothing bank and food bank) - 509-927-1153

McKay Allen is a reporter for KXLY 4 HD News. He's a graduate of Brigham Young University. He and his wife are members of the Franklin Park Ward in the Spokane North Stake.

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