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Connecting for a Cure
By Kayla O'Brien

RISMEDIA, Jan. 31, 2007-When Peggy Doepper was first approached about the illness, ALS, that was affecting a sales associate's daughter, she discovered that she didn't have to meet the inspiring Jenifer Estess to realize that this was a disease that she wanted to help to cure. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, or motor neuron disease, is a fatal neuromuscular disorder that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. Here, Peggy Doepper, president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Connecticut/Westchester, NY, explains her team's active involvement in giving back to the community by volunteering time and generous monetary donations to help this cause.

Real Estate magazine: Can you describe your initial connection with ALS?

Peggy Doepper: Marilyn Estess, a long time sales associate in our Rye, New York office, had approached me initially. She had recently lost her daughter, Jenifer, to ALS in 2003. Going back to her initial diagnosis in April of 1997, Jenifer decided she was going to fight it and not just accept her fate. She and her two sisters, Meredith and Valerie, formed Project A.L.S. They realized there was a lot of research but they wanted to improve the efforts of the scientific community. Jenifer was in the theater, and was able to rally many high-profile people behind the fight against the disease. To this day, Meredith and Valerie are still raising substantial dollars for cutting-edge scientific research.

RE: What was the deciding factor that made you want to help Project A.L.S.?

PD: Jenifer wrote a book - Tales from the Bed - talking about her life from the initial diagnosis right to her death. After hearing the story about Jenifer, reading the book, and meeting the sisters, you almost feel like you know her. I had never met her, but it felt like something where we could really get our company involved. Particularly because Marilyn is one of our agents - it's fitting to give back to a cause that's so close to home.

RE: How do you get others at your company involved in fundraising efforts?

PD: We have a special team comprised of senior management and sales associates. We believe it's important to have input and involvement at every level of the organization and so we really wanted to get all of our offices involved in a number of ways. We invited the Estess sisters to our events, sales rallies, manager meetings, branch offices, etc., so the agents got to know them and hear about Jenifer's story. Word spread quickly. We also have a company Intranet site. Everything we do in terms of community involvement is posted on the site. In addition, we held a sales rally at the same time as our fundraising kickoff. Employees and managers can contribute to Project A.L.S. and other charities through payroll deductions. The employee contributions are matched by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares, the philanthropic arm of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

RE: What goes into the events that you sponsor? What has the feedback been like?

PD: We had a three-mile walk in 2004 and 2005, collectively raising $200,000. This involved months of planning and hundreds of hours of fundraising by more than 500 agents and employees from 50 different offices. Some local Westchester radio stations covered the event, and we had a lot of local press. The event was also included in the Project A.L.S. Web site and newsletter.

Some of our offices do additional fundraisers. Fran Southworth, a Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage agent from Westport, is a singer and organized a concert to raise funds. We've done that for the past three years. Other offices had tag sales, bowling for dollars, holiday gift bazaars, and one office even had a wine tasting and silent auction. It's really a team effort. People feel like the events are fun, giving them a sense of time well spent. If you can make the time to give back, whether to those less fortunate or a research cause like ALS, it makes you stop and think about how lucky we are to have what we have. We really need to make time to give back to the community that supports our business. Beyond the financial success of these events, it produced a sense of pride and forged a bond with the Project A.L.S. family.

RE: How else have you associated your company with ALS?

PD: Most recently, we co-sponsored the NY Design Fair in Manhattan with Departures magazine.

RE: What are the main objectives of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares - the fundraising arm of your company?

PD: Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares is a chapter of the NRT Foundation, a 501 C 3 public charity whose mission is to better the quality of life in communities where we have a presence.

RE: What other types of charitable organizations are supported by the efforts of your local offices?

PD: We currently support three regional homeless shelters, including My Sisters' Place. We have a golf outing every year that has been tremendously successful. We call the program, "Charity Begins at Home," and we were able to raise enough money to purchase a van, a playscape, and fuel assistance for My Sisters' Place. We are also very involved with the American Cancer Society, the Multiple Sclerosis Walk, Foodshare, and the annual holiday toy drive for "We Are The Children."

RE: How have these efforts helped to build team spirit among Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage agents and employees?

PD: I think that any time you can get a group of people to rally behind a good cause, it creates a really strong team spirit. It energizes people and reinforces our commitment to our clients and the neighborhoods they live in. At the end of the walk, for example, the weather may be sunny or dreary, you still walk away with the feeling it was time well spent. What a wonderful way to build pride in your company while making a real difference in people's lives.

RE: What is on the agenda for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares in 2007?

PD: We'll definitely continue our involvement with ALS. Moving forward, we'll be forming a committee to talk about helping other deserving organizations. There are a great many to choose from so we rely on input from our agents and employees before making a final selection. Whatever the choice, we will be behind the effort 100%!

Project A.L.S. on the Move, an Overview:

Mission: to bring the best science to ALS patients in the form of effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure.

Project A.L.S. has raised over $30 million, directing 81% to research programs.

The majority of fundraising proceeds go to support investigations in Genetics, Drug Discovery, Stem Cells, and Disease Pathways.

The hallmark of Project A.L.S. research is collaboration. Researchers who were competitors now play on the same team, meet regularly, share data openly, and work rationally, constructively, and aggressively toward shared goals.

The world's first privately funded laboratory to focus exclusively on stem cells and ALS opened in New York in the Summer of 2006. A joint venture between Project A.L.S. and Columbia University, the Jenifer Estess Laboratory for Stem Cell Research, will use stem cells to screen drugs that may slow ALS.

Lifetime Television premiered "Jenifer," the acclaimed, original television drama, on January 21, 2007. Created for the CBS television network in 2001, "Jenifer" charts the life of Jenifer Estess and the founding of Project A.L.S.

Bob Kagan, the President/CEO of Cordova, Inc., a jewelry manufacturer, has created the Project A.L.S. Star of Hope, to build a heightened interest in and support of ALS. For more information, visit http://cordovajewelry.com.

To learn more about ALS, visit the Project A.L.S. Web site: http://www.projectals.org.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
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