MISSOULA — Giving season may only be beginning, but a Missoula-based real estate company is already celebrating through its annual “Give Day.”
ERA Lambros Real Estate raises money all year in order to donate to multiple non-profits and community organizations. Towards the end of the year, they present the donations during a day-of-giving bus tour.
In 2002, two realtors with ERA Lambros started the ERA Lambros Community Foundation which supports organizations that work to bridge gaps on food, clothing and shelter in the community.
Since its inception, the foundation has donated $330,000 to organizations in Missoula County.
While ERA partners with community sponsors to help raise the money — including First Security Bank and Mann Mortgage — much of the funds are raised by the company’s realtors and employees.
Some agents donate parts of their commission, while others contribute through company-wide auctions or BINGO fundraisers. The money raised in 2023, a total of over $30,000, was donated to 14 non-profits.
ERA Lambros Real Estate owner Pat Dauenhauer says the fundraising is part of the company’s mission statement to give back to the community.
“It’s just a great opportunity for us to say thank you to not just all of these organizations for what they do, but to the community as well,” he says.
While the donation is a long-standing tradition, this year marks the second annual bus tour. About 30 realtors and employees packed onto a school bus Wednesday morning to hand deliver checks to five of the organizations receiving donations from ERA Lambros.
“We used to just mail them a check, but now it’s cool to actually go to the facilities, and learn about the programs and see the people and the directors,” Zach Gratton, an agent with ERA Lambros, said on Wednesday.
The bus tour ran for about four hours, and each organization was able to provide a little tour and information on how they serve the community. The ERA employees also asked about how to volunteer at the various organizations.
“It’s just another opportunity for us to get out there and really just see all the good that raising this money actually does,” Dauenhauer says. “I would just encourage anyone that’s out there donating to many of these organizations, call them up and get a tour of their facility. It’s so impactful, and it’s so meaningful in not just you and what you take away from it, but to the people that wake up every day and show up every day at these places.”
For the company’s 2023 “Give Day,” they personally delivered checks to Hope Rescue Mission, Missoula Interfaith Collaborative, Mountain Home Montana, Family First Learning Lab, and Watson’s Children Shelter.
The crew visited Hope Rescue Mission’s thrift store to deliver the check, where they learned that the money would be used to build a greenhouse for their clients.
During a tour of Missoula Interfaith Collaborative, ERA learned the $2,000 check was to pay for welcome baskets for families who are moving into permanent housing.
Watson Children's Shelter and Mountain Home Montana said their sums would be allocated towards their new facilities while Family First Learning Lab will use its $1,400 for their Art with a Purpose Program.
Overall, while learning about the services provided by these community organizations, the ERA agents left the bus feeling more grateful.
“It’s just a very humbling experience, you get out and you see the need for the community and then you know, we go home and squeeze our families a little tighter,” agent Lyla Weimokly said. “It feels good to do it.”
To donate or learn more about the ERA Lambros Community Foundation, visit their website.
The other organizations who received donations but were not a part of the “Give Day” bus tour include:
- Missoula Family YMCA
- Habitat for Humanity of Missoula
- Missoula Aging Services
- Missoula Housing Authority
- Montana Food Bank Network
- The Jayden Fred Foundation
- United Way of Missoula County
- Youth Homes
- YWCA Missoula
