School board honors Realtors for support of music programs

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School board honors Realtors for support of music programs
Members of the Real Estate Alliance of Livermore leadership team accept a certificate of recognition from the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District on Sept. 17, 2024. Posing in front of the school board members are REAL group leaders (from left) Stacie Logan, Alyssa Gonzalez, Sean Leggat and Sam Yusufi. (Photo courtesy Bay East)

Fundraising efforts by a group of Livermore real estate professionals is music to the ears for Livermore students.

“For years, the Real Estate Alliance of Livermore (REAL) has put on three auctions a year and since 2016 we’ve raised more than $150,000 for local nonprofits, Livermore police programs, and Livermore schools,” said Alyssa Gonzalez, 2024 REAL chairperson. 

“Our Easter and Halloween auctions raise money for local nonprofits including Missing Man Ministry, Little Miracles and Reins in Motion to name a few. Our back-to-school auction helps raise funds for different needs the Livermore school district has,” Gonzalez added. 

Gonzalez said supporting Livermore schools has been one of REAL’s top priorities — they have raised more than $100,000 for various programs. 

“In the past, we have raised funds for the culinary program, mental health resources, behavioral assemblies and this year we are raising money for the music programs,” she said. “Music programs across the district are underfunded and have been providing an outstanding outlet for students to learn the arts and build community.”

Their efforts were recognized by the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District during a special presentation at the Sept. 17 meeting of the Board of Trustees. 

“We are grateful to the Real Estate Alliance of Livermore for its fundraising efforts and generous support of our school district’s music programs,” LVJUSD Board Clerk Kristie Wang said. “Our music programs are the crown jewel of the school district and the highlight of many of our students’ years in our schools. We are so fortunate to have the support of a community partner like REAL.”

LVJUSD staff acknowledged the partnership between the district and REAL. 

Michelle Dawson, the district’s coordinator of community engagement, said she works with other LVJUSD staff and REAL to identify student needs. 

“REAL members recognize that great schools contribute to a great community,” Dawson said. “Many are parents or grandparents of current or former students of ours. They are in the business of building neighborhoods, and for many years now, they have made it their cause to support our neighborhood schools.”

Dawson shared that during the pandemic, REAL raised funds to purchase Chromebooks for students who attended school remotely and for mental health training and materials to help them come out of the pandemic.

“This year, REAL raised more than $17,000 to support our music programs,” Dawson said. “Our hope was that enough funds would be raised to support the music needs at Junction, however, this group is a bunch of overachievers, raising enough to not only fulfill all of Junction’s instrument requests, but also much of Granada’s needs as well.”

“And the great news is that this funding, together with donations from other community organizations, will result in all of our schools’ music programs receiving additional support this year,” she added.

The Real Estate Alliance of Livermore is a Bay East Association of Realtors work group who meet weekly to stay informed about real estate market conditions, local and regional real estate-related issues, and network with real estate professionals.

The current REAL leadership includes Gonzalez as chair, vice chairs Danielle Merrigan, Sean Leggat, and Sonia Gonzalez, and work group members Kathy Anderson, Erica Badger, Dan Birdwell, Viviana Cherman, DeeDee French, Andrea Jeffery, Jaitinder Kooner, Stacie Logan, Andriana Mendez, Cherie Mayberry and Sam Yusufi.

Editor’s note: David Stark is chief public affairs and communications officer for the Bay East Association of Realtors, based in Pleasanton.

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