Every year, Lower Mainland REALTORS® organize a Blanket Drive to collect blankets and warm clothing to help people in need stave off the winter cold and wet. Thousands of REALTORS® and members of the public generously donate to this worthwhile cause.

Dozens of real estate offices across the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver serve as drop-off locations to collect an astounding 4,000+ bags of blankets and clothing, which REALTOR® volunteers personally deliver to local charities (listed below).

In 2012, the Blanket Drive ran from Monday, November 26 to Monday, December 3.

Read more here.

Since 1994, the Blanket Drive has grown to become the largest collection of its kind in the Lower Mainland assisting over 205,000 people over those years. Donations come from REALTORS®, their clients, the general public, corporations, retailers, community groups and schools. Everyone works together to make the drive a success.

Since 1995, Fraser Valley REALTORS® have joined forces with police acting as "extra eyes and ears" to fight crime in their communities. REALTOR® members at the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board joined the Realty Watch program in 2003. In 2006, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver members launched Realty Watch for their areas.

Realty Watch is a crime prevention program whose mission is to reduce and prevent crime by assisting police in time-critical situations — usually lost, missing or abducted children or vulnerable adults.

Police contact the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and request a fan-out for the missing person. The information sent out as a text message to REALTORS®. After receiving the fan-out message, if a REALTOR® sees or hears anything that could help police with that case, he or she calls 911.

REALTORS®, with their smartphones and community mobility, are an excellent resource for police. Over 14,000 REALTORS throughout the Lower Mainland of BC, from Whistler to Hope, can be mobilized within 30 minutes.

In the Fraser Valley, Realty Watch is led by a group of volunteer REALTORS®. For more information, call 604.930.7630.

Visit www.realtywatch.net for more information.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board launched the REALTORS® Make Good Neighbours Awards in 2002 to honour community volunteering by REALTORS®. Recipients are selected based on the amount of time they spend volunteering, level of responsibility undertaken as volunteers and overall impact of their efforts within their communities.

The selection panel is composed of people outside the real estate profession, who work in local charities and non-profit associations.

Read about the 2012 award recipients here.