“Give where you live” at first annual RED Day

The sun was shining on the afternoon of Thursday, May 9, as Keller Williams Realty’s new Bay Ridge branch held its first annual RED Day (Renew Energize Donate) cleanup at Owl’s Head Park.

RED Day is a yearly tradition practiced by over 10,000 employees of Keller Williams throughout the U.S. and Canada, during which they close all of their offices for business and give back to their communities by cleaning and restoring parks and other aspects of the neighborhoods they serve.

Locally, a team of about 30 Keller Williams associates and staff members, and the Owl’s Head Park Horticulture Group gathered in Owl’s Head Park to build fences, paint bricks, do mulch work, clean garbage and more.

Also, several members of the team walked to the nearby Guild for Exceptional Children, where they met with the people served by the Guild, went to their greenhouse and received donations of flowers to plant in the park.

Elizabeth Ameno, team leader/CEO at Keller Williams, explained that this was the group’s first year participating in RED Day and they were all happy to be part of it. “I think this really sets us apart from other real estate companies,” said Ameno. “Give where you live, that’s the slogan.”

David Matthews, area manager of Owls Head Park by way of the Shore Road Parks Conservancy, said, “We were approached by Keller Williams to do this RED Day event and we were happy to host them.”

He also spoke about the recent increase in neighborhood involvement with park beautification. “The neighborhood began getting enthusiastic after the success of the tree-lighting event,” noted Matthews, “We have established six planting beds that neighbors are gardening, and we plan on having more.”

“I could not think of a better organization to be a part of and a better place to live. Today I combine the two to give back to the place I love,” added Charles Olson, a salesperson and founding member of Keller Williams.