A local real estate agent working out of Crifasi Real Estate’s Middle Village office is using his skills to sell homes to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma in Houston and Florida.
John Lombardi has been Crifasi Real Estate’s best producer for the last six years running, and while sitting in his living room one day with his daughter watching the people of Houston try and put the pieces of their lives back together after Hurricane Harvey left a path of destruction in its wake, an idea came to him.
Lombardi decided that he would donate $300 for every closing he makes on a house until the end of 2018.
“As a realtor, one of the most exciting things to see is someone move into a new home,” he said. “Now these people in Houston have nothing. Now that Irma has hit, it’s really important to give back.”
Hearing of Lombardi’s pledge, Crifasi Real Estate agreed to match his donation, for a total donation of $600 for every listing Lombardi closes over the next 15 months. Lombardi expects to help raise $30,000 total by the end of 2018.
Since starting his donation pledge, Lombardi already has four accepted offers over the last 10 days, and will include all listings he currently has in contract. With Crifasi’s matching, that is already $2,400 ready to be donated.
“We are in this for the long haul,” Lombardi said. “It’s great that the company backed me up right away. It’s really exciting for me. ”
And Lombardi’s giving spirit has gone beyond the real estate world. Local residents have reached out to him and told him that his story has inspired them to donate something to the hurricane relief efforts.
Each month Lombardi will write out a check for every home he has sold and will donate that check to a group of three charities, including the Humane Society, food banks in Houston and Florida, and the Red Cross.
“Animals are very important to me, and when you see the videos from the storms, there are a lot of injured and abandoned animals out there,” Lombardi said. “So we are going to send some money to save them.”
He will document each check so everyone knows where the money is going, he said.
Only time will tell how much money Lombardi will raise, but anything going toward the immense recovery efforts to help rebuild Houston and the areas of Florida that were dismantled by the hurricanes will help.
