The real-estate industry will be ringing bells and manning Salvation Army kettles in front of stores across the Valley on Wednesdays this month.
Thousands of metro Phoenix real-estate and title agents are expected to help bring in donations for the nonprofit as part of Real Estate Wednesdays.
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Last year, the Valley’s real estate industry bell-ringing program raised $275,000 from donations and savings on expenses. The money goes toward funding programs to help the hungry, those struggling with homelessness and others in need.
Veteran Valley real-estate agents JoAnn and Joseph Callaway launched Real Estate Wednesdays in 2013.
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The couple, known as Those Callaways, have long been supporters of the Salvation Army.
“Joseph always made sure he had enough cash for the kettles on the way in and out of stores,” JoAnn Callaway said last year. “We grew up in Illinois knowing many people the Army had helped.”
The couple started the program after meeting with the Salvation Army and finding out it was having trouble getting bell ringers during the week.
In 2013, the Callaways recruited more than 1,500 of their friends in real estate to ring bells. Last year, more than 2,000 people from the Valley’s real-estate market volunteered and the program has expanded to other states.
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