DAYTONA BEACH — Donations to a charter school for pregnant and parenting students was one of several initiatives that has helped Daytona’s Young Professionals Network for Realtors gain recognition while serving the community.
Student Chelsea Powell was awarded a $1,000 scholarship at The Chiles Academy’s graduation ceremony May 18 courtesy of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors Young Professionals Network’s summer fundraiser. The scholarship is designed to help her pay for incidentals, such as books and transportation, during her first year of college.
Under the YPN’s leadership team, the group also collected 500 baby items and toys and more than 1,000 articles of clothing for students and their children. The fundraiser benefited The Chiles Academy, a public charter school whose mission is to provide support and guidance for pregnant and parenting students to help them earn their high school diplomas.
Of all their events, community engagement brings the most “energy” and “excitement” to the members of the group, said DBAAR YPN Chair Chad Newberry.
“The Chiles' project was such a passion project for so many of these Realtors,” Newberry said. “Everyone was very excited about it and put a lot of effort into it.”
The leadership team who spearheaded the summer fundraiser includes Realtors Tom Caffrey, Ashley Garrett, Ashley Schilling, Marjory Amarisinghe, Savannah Dow, Vonila Bhandari, Katie Gainer, Cydney Reagen and Newberry.
It was Reagen’s idea to work with Chile's in particular. “She really believed in what they do,” Newberry said, and the group felt particularly inspired to help the students after a school representative came to speak at a YPN meeting.
To raise the $1,000 for the scholarship, the YPN hosted a raffle with real estate professionals and YPN members “in heavy attendance,” Newberry said, and other industry professionals such as title companies and brokers attended as well. The toys, baby items and clothes were mostly donated by members and their friends, Newberry said.
Newberry has led the YPN group as chair since its founding in May 2017. One of his priorities is the community giveback initiatives, which he said help foster members’ leadership skills and promote themselves.
Also at the suggestion of Reagen, the YPN’s first fundraiser was a Christmas toy drive for patients in Halifax Hospital’s pediatric wing. Newberry said both the toy drive and summer fundraiser were “grassroots” efforts, in which the YPN’s members posted on social media, talked to friends and put out boxes in their real estate offices to gather donations. Newberry hopes to repeat the two fundraisers each year.
While the group enjoys the genuine efforts to benefit the community, Newberry said, the work also helps members stand out from other Realtors. It helps spread awareness of the group within the real estate community as well, he said.
“It’s always great to give back. But another effect of that is that when people see you doing that and helping the community, they respect you for what you’re doing,” Newberry said.
The DBAAR YPN started about a year ago with three members, and it was virtually unknown within Daytona’s real estate industry. It has since grown to about 50 members and meets monthly.
Newberry was instrumental in the group’s founding, and he’s led it as chair since it started. It was difficult at first to get the ball rolling, he said, but the group has become more self-sustainable.
“I’m able to take a step back and let members run events,” Newberry said. “I put a breath of life into it, and now it’s living on its own.”
Immediate past president of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors, Rose Roberts, made it a priority to launch the YPN for Realtors in Daytona during her presidency. It was decided that Newberry would help start and ultimately lead the organization.
Newberry already had experience starting an organization for young professionals. He used to work in the travel industry in Los Angeles. There, he and a team founded Millennials in Travel, which was a grassroots initiative to help younger people find jobs during the Great Recession.
Three of Newberry’s friends in the industry attended the first meeting. The second meeting, there were six attendees, and around 10 at the next.
“We kept getting more people each month,” he said. “It really has grown a lot the past few months. I’m surprised it’s been able to grow as fast as it has in such a short period of time.”
Newberry used his experiences with Millennials in Travel and observations from high profile Realtors to create his three focusing principles — professional development, largely through education, networking and community giveback initiatives so “members foster their leadership skills.”
Newberry said he heard many younger Realtors had aspirations to “put their name out there” and promote themselves to get more business.
“I felt that there was a need for an organization to help them do that,” Newberry said.
Newberry observed what established, successful Realtors had done to earn their reputations. He saw that they were deeply involved in the community, stayed up-to-date with their education and made an effort to connect with other members in the industry.
“I gravitate toward high profile Realtors. I observe them, and I noticed the things they did and I learned how they became so well-known and successful,” Newberry said.
Newberry said he uses the YPN meetings as an opportunity to help members create their own success. Newberry invites friends and colleges in the industry to host training sessions and educational seminars at meetings. They also have a few networking events annually, in which members will meet with a sponsor at a restaurant and just “talk and get to know them,” Newberrry said.
Newberry said that while he does not plan to continue as chair for 2019, he hopes that the DBAAR YPN continues to grow membership, expand its reputation and continue philanthropic efforts.