Realtor Foundation Donates To North Salem 'Friends Of Karen' Organization

From HGAR: The Hudson Gateway REALTOR® Foundation, the charitable arm of the Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS®, recently presented a check for $1,000 to Friends of Karen, based in North Salem.

Friends of Karen provides emotional, financial and advocacy support for children with a life-threatening illness and their families in order to help keep them strong, functioning, and able to cope.

In 1978, Karen MacInnes, 16, of Purdys, was terminally ill with Lafora disease, a rare genetic disorder. She had been hospitalized for almost a year, but wanted to spend her remaining time at home. Sheila Petersen, a family friend, appealed to the community about the plight of Karen and her family. Friends and neighbors gave generously to help pay the mounting bills for the ‘round-the-clock care she needed. After Karen died, her family expressed their wish that Sheila continue to help other families with a catastrophically ill child.

Susan Stillman, of Houlihan Lawrence’s Bedford office, Mike O'Connor of Coldwell Banker, Yorktown Heights, and Susan Code of Houlihan Lawrence, Briarcliff Manor have been active volunteers with the organization. Kerry Fedigan of Douglas Elliman, Scarsdale serves on the Hudson Gateway REALTOR ® Foundation Board of Trustees.

Friends of Karen is one of 17 local Hudson Valley charities benefiting from The REALTOR® Foundation, which raised more than $30,000 at its September “Monte Carlo Night Gala” at Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle. Established in 2004 and relaunched in 2013, the Foundation has donated thousands of dollars to charities and non-profits throughout the Hudson Valley. As concerned members of the communities we work in, the Hudson Gateway REALTOR® Foundation participates in qualified community-based charities who serve the housing, hunger, health, happiness, and humane needs of citizens everywhere.

For more information or to apply for funding from the Hudson Gateway REALTOR® Foundation, please visit www.hgrealtorfoundation.com.

The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® is a not-for-profit trade association covering over 10,300 real estate professionals doing business in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Orange counties. It is the second largest REALTOR® Association in New York, and one of the largest in the country. It owns and operates the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service (HGMLS), offering more than 24,000 properties in the Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties. It is among the top 50 largest MLSs in the country.

Photo courtesy of HGAR (From left: Kerry Fedigan, Susan Stillman, Mike O'Connor, Judith Factor, Executive Director, Friends of Karen, Barbara Wilkov, Friends of Karen and Susan Code)