Yesterday was an amazing day, despite the fact that absolutely everything went wrong – a buyer was outbid, one of my appointments didn’t show up, and in general nothing productive happened. I floated through the day with a smile on my face because of the good news I had gotten the night before.
A little background: Many of my Cambrian neighbors knew and loved Lee Ann Laraway, who sadly passed 1 year ago, in November 2012. Leanne had been wheelchair bound since childhood and has had several service dogs to assist her, most recently, Jeannie, a beautiful black lab, who passed away shortly after Lee Ann left us. The whole community was devastated by the loss.
Leanne and Jeannie
A few months ago, I asked her brother Bill if I could introduce Canine Companions (The organization that trains dogs like Jeannie) to my Real Estate firm, the Sereno Group, so that Canine Companions might be considered as a potential beneficiary of our “1% for Good” campaign. This campaign was “created in an effort to support the best of our community.” Sereno Group has pledged to give 1% of our gross commissions to a charitable or community-minded group committed to making a positive difference in the communities we serve.
I’m extremely excited to announce that Canine Companions has JUST been selected this week as our newest beneficiary to receive 1% of gross commissions earned by the Sereno Los Gatos office between October 2013 and January 2014! In addition, we will be running an advertising campaign to promote Canine Companions to our communities. I could not be happier about this!!
I will have Lee Ann and Jeannie in my thoughts as we work for this amazing organization. Wish us luck raising lots of money!
Giving Back, Growing Strong 
I’m a two-time recipient of CCI dogs, currently partnered with Bright, and we actually gave a presentation at Bill’s school; thank you so much for advocating for us to Sereno. The the impact of the funds you’re committing to CCI will be far-reaching and so appreciated.
Alex, thank you so much for your reply! I am so so so thrilled. I would love to invite you and Bright over for our end-of-January neighborhood party at my home to celebrate the donation when we have the final amount and have given the check to CCI. (It might actually end up being in early Feb.) You can reach me at kirsten@serenogroup.com. Let’s keep in touch!
I’d be honored! I’ll email you so you’ve got my personal contact info.