Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation Increases Support Of Habitat For Humanity With A Celebrity Auction To Benefit Habitat Families In The Gulf Coast

Company Also Announces Pledge Commitments Totaling $5 Million to Build More Than 100 Habitat Homes Around the Country

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Tuesday, December 20, 2005) - Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation has announced plans to dramatically increase its support of Habitat for Humanity® through several initiatives designed to aid families across the nation, including deserving Habitat families in the Gulf Coast region displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


First, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation will initiate a celebrity auction on eBay beginning in February 2006. All proceeds from the auction will go to Habitat for Humanity International’s Hurricane Katrina Fund. Visitors to a Coldwell Banker® celebrity auction site will have the chance to bid on personal and VIP experiences with celebrities as well as items from their homes, career memorabilia or set props donated to the auction.


The Coldwell Banker organization also plans to spearhead a grass roots campaign with the more than 3,400 Coldwell Banker affiliate offices nationwide as an additional way to promote the celebrity auction fundraiser.


In related news, Coldwell Banker has reached a milestone in its “100 Homes By Our 100th Anniversary” initiative. To date, only 20 months after the “100 Homes” project was launched, sponsorship commitments of $5 million has already been raised or pledged for 111 Habitat homes.


Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation, announced that the organization will sponsor several additional Habitat homes for families displaced by the recent hurricanes. That will bring the total number of home sponsorships in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to 18.


“Habitat for Humanity has been our national charity of choice since 1993,” says Gillespie “During these past 12 years, Coldwell Banker affiliates have raised millions of dollars for Habitat for Humanity and helped build hundreds of homes for families in need. We had already planned several events with Habitat as part of the Coldwell Banker 100th anniversary celebration in 2006. In the wake of the devastation in the Gulf Coast, we have redirected some of our fundraising efforts to help the rebuilding process.”


“What makes this particularly special is that the Coldwell Banker® network is once again in a position to help an American community in a time of crisis,” Gillespie continues. “Coldwell Banker was founded in San Francisco on the heels of the 1906 earthquake, with the founders dedicated to helping the city get back on its feet. Now, almost 100 years later, with the devastation from Katrina and Rita, the Coldwell Banker organization is once again in a position where we believe it is incumbent upon us to do what we can to help some of the neediest families get new homes, giving them a foundation to help get their lives back on track.”

Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization, aims to eliminate substandard housing and homelessness worldwide by providing affordable housing to low-income families. There are more than 2,300 active Habitat affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territory of Guam and 91 other countries. By the end of 2005, Habitat will have built its 200,000th house and more than one million people will be living in Habitat homes they helped build and are buying through non-profit, zero interest mortgages. Habitat for Humanity has been Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation’s national charity of choice since 1993.






About Coldwell Banker®
Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier provider of full-service real estate. In 2005, Franchise Times magazine's prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system number one in real estate and number nine among all franchisors. The Coldwell Banker System has more than 3,900 residential and commercial real estate offices and 126,000 Sales Associates in 29 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new homes and luxury properties through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Mortgage is one of the largest telephone/web based lenders in the country and the Coldwell Banker Commercial® network is an industry leader in providing commercial real estate solutions that serve the needs of tenants, landlords, sellers and buyers in the leasing, acquisition, disposition and management of all property types. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD). © 2006 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation Coldwell Banker® licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. Each office is independently owned and operated except for offices owned and operated by NRT Incorporated.

View all Coldwell Banker Press Releases

This article has been read 274 times.

Printer Friendly