I wanted to update everyone on the Project 680 Community Bike Ride last weekend. A group of us met at Hagan Park in Rancho Cordova to enjoy a ride along the American River trails for the cause of raising money and collecting socks for local homeless students. Our official sock and money count will be tallied on Thursday evening, so stay tuned to www.project680.org or on our our Facebook page.

Thank you everyone for your support. Together we can make a difference and be the difference for local students struggling with stable living situations. Thank you also to Keith Klassen, who “raided the aisle“, came on the bike ride, and whose back makes a prominent appearance in the video at 15 seconds (guy wearing black and gray). 

I hit the jackpot yesterday when talking with a local realtor, and it ended up being a “two birds with one stone” situation. Here’s what happened.

Earlier in the day I emailed a Facebook Realtor friend and asked her if she ever sold a condo in a particular subdivision in the city of Folsom. There are ZERO recent condo sales in this subdivision in Empire Ranch, so I want to get as much firsthand information as possible. Well, my friend gave me a chunk of insight, but it turned out that she needed some help because she was having financing issues with one of her deals in the “Rivage” condo subdivision in Folsom.

Anyway, through the course of contacting listing agents for research for my appraisal, I talked with Realtor Ann Boswell of Insight Real Estate. I had never spoken with Ann before, but she ended up being a wealth of information for not only the subject subdivision, but for “Rivage” up the street. Ann spent a good 10-15 minutes on the phone with me (I love when Realtors take time like that. It’s good on so many levels). 

It turns out that since Rivage has not yet completed construction, some of the buildings are FHA approved and others are not. That could be an issue, don’t you think? It’s funny to think that despite these buildings being next door to each other in the same new development, some of them don’t make the cut (yet) to be guaranteed by HUD. More specifically, per HUD’s website, only buildings 1 and 13-26 are currently approved by HUD/FHA.

Two birds with one stone? One, I got insight into the subject subdivision. And Two, thanks to Ann Boswell I was able to resource my Facebook friend with information on Rivage and why her deal was maybe having some issues. But most of all, I was able to give my Facebook friend the name of someone at Wells Fargo who could help her get her condo on the HUD approved list.

You can search HERE to see the HUD/FHA approved condominium list.

I wanted to share some very exciting news. I am humbled and honored to announce that last week the Cordova Community Council graced me with the “Distinguished Service to Youth” award for my work with Project 680. I was not expecting this in any way and I feel extremely honored to have been selected for this annual award. I never do stuff for recognition, but sometimes recognition happens, and this means a great deal to me and my family.

I hesitated to share this news because I didn’t want to come across as self-absorbed or bragging. For anyone who knows me, you know that’s not the way I am. I crossed the line and decided to share though because this is important, friends would like to know, and it also helps get word out about Project 680.

Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement. Together we can make a difference and help solve problems in our community.

This isn’t related to real estate, but definitely worth sharing. My brother recently let me know about someone he heard of named Betty Londergan. Betty inherited some money and she started something called What Gives 365 Project. In short, Betty is giving away $100 every day to causes she chooses. And she’s blogging about it. 

“This is all my money. It comes from what my dad left each one of us kids when he died, and I can’t think of a single thing my mom would have loved more than to see me giving it away to worthy causes. (However, my dad would undoubtedly say that I need to get my head examined.)”

Why am I bringing this up? I am very pleased to announce that Betty donated $100 to Project  680, a grassroots organization I help steer. Read Betty’s post today on Project 680 entitled “Underwear, Socks, Shoes“.

What do you think of this and what Betty is doing?

I have a “Photos from the Field” category on my site that usually includes pictures relating to real estate somehow, but today I want to shift gears and share something a bit more personal – not TMI, but something that really matters to me.

Project 680 is a grassroots community effort to find practical ways to support local homeless students within the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. We dub ourselves Project “680″ because in 2008 we found out there were ”680″ documented homeless students in the FCUSD. That was shocking and unacceptable, so we decided to do something about it. Since then many individuals, organizations, churches and businesses have come together to advocate for local kids.   

Today was a very exciting day because a friend and I were able to go to Sunrise Elementary School in the Anatolia area of Rancho Cordova to say thank you to some all-star students who gathered items for Project 680. Three kindergarten classes ended up collecting 154 pairs of gloves, 67 hats, and 11 scarves for local homeless students. Way to go kids!!! (and teachers) We are proud of you!!!  

This is such great news and I wanted to share it with you. It’s just too good on so many levels, don’t you think?

Please know though that I don’t mention this to brag or boast in any way. I’m not looking for public kudos either. I just think it’s so important to take a stand for struggling kids as well as find a vision in life that makes a real difference. I am so thankful to be actively learning to live out a vision with locals in Rancho Cordova and Folsom through Project 680. That’s easy to write about.

Join the Project 680 Facebook Page.

I am very pleased to announce that the final tally of donations for the Project 680 Shoe Drive is $3,601.51. This effort is something I fully support in my community, and I am very proud of the way things unfolded for the shoe drive. I have been posting about this from time to time, so you may have known that our goal was to raise $1,500 to purchase 100 pairs of new shoes for students in need within the FCUSD. Well, it looks like the community really bought into the vision and we ended up collecting far more. 

Together we can make a difference – even in this economy. Do you believe that? Thank you to local residents, businesses, churches and organizations that partnered together to put shoes on the feet of students in need. I stand in awe.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Wonderful Results from the Project 680 Shoe Drive

This post is not related to real estate appraisal per se, but it has everything to do with “value”. Project 680 is something I wholeheartedly support, help organize and lead, and sponsor as a business.

I firmly believe we can find creative solutions to some of the problems we face in our society, especially as it pertains to local children in need.

Project 680 is a grassroots community effort to find relevant and practical ways to support local students in need. We are working closely with the Folsom Cordova School District Liaison for Homeless Services to support her yearly shoe drive for needy students, and our goal is to raise $1,500 to cover the cost of 100 pairs of brand new shoes. Project 680 is a volunteer team effort and we partner with local residents, individuals, households, organizations, churches, and businesses, to advocate for local kids.

There are many ways to get involved in the shoe drive as mentioned on the Project 680 website, but one specific and creative way that I wanted to make note of is to be a part of the P680 Bike Ride. On Saturday, 11/07/09, Project 680 is hosting a community bike ride as a creative and fun way to raise money for new shoes for needy students. Riders are invited to donate $5.00 each or $10.00 per household, or even put together a “Riding for Shoes” team.

Please have a look at the Project 680 website at www.project680.org and specifically under “Shoes” and “Bike” for information on the Shoe Drive and the Community Bike Ride. This is a short ride and very family-friendly. Even if you haven’t been on a bike for a few decades, you can do this one!!!

Thank you everyone for taking a moment to listen and for your support. Let me know if you have any questions!!!

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Project 680 Shoe Drive & Bike Ride

Blogs can sometimes be hubs where over-sharing takes place, huh. Have you ever read something and thought, “whoa, that was way too much information.” Well, that’s not the vibe here, but I do want to get a little more personal and share something close to my heart.

After learning recently that there were 680 documented cases of homeless students last year within the Folsom Cordova School District, a group of residents and I decided to something about it. We call ourselves Project 680 and we seek to find simple and practical ways to assist these “680? students located in Folsom and Rancho Cordova. 

The Project 680 Promo Video Explains it All: 

On March 11th, 2009 at 6:30pm we have a community forum set up at 10600 Coloma Road in Rancho Cordova (Cordova Neighborhood Church is giving us free meeting space). We’ll meet with the District Liaison for Homeless Services, have a Q&A, and then take part in discussion as a community about what it can look like to support local students. This is about working together to discover simple solutions to a real problem that is relevant to many areas in the Sacramento Region. You are invited and please spread the word. For more information, see www.cordovatowne.com, leave a comment, or give me a call at 916-595-3735. Thank you.

What does this have to do with real estate appraisal? Not much per se. But isn’t it great when we can pool our resources together to make a meaningful difference in the lives of local students? Isn’t it wonderful when local businesses can network and promote something altruistic that impacts the local community? In both our personal and professional lives we can find ways to bring positive change in our communities, even in this economy - that’s the good stuff in life.

Have a tremendous day of business everyone!!!