#GiveBackFridays: City Year

City Year Providence deploys 60 highly skilled AmeriCorps members to serve in six schools, positively impacting nearly 5,000 students. Thousands of students in Providence are at risk for dropping out. The consequences are real: Students who drop out are eight times more likely to become incarcerated and three times more likely to be unemployed. When a student drops out of school it has a lasting effect on our communities.

Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty has been an active member in the City Year community for several years. In 2018, members of our team visited local Providence elementary schools and painted inspirational quotes on otherwise blank walls around campus. This year, we were invited to participate in the Gingerbread Kit Project.

Sponsored by Dave’s Marketplace, Ellie’s Bakery, Gracie’s, and Miriam Hospital, the Gingerbread Kit Project is designed to produce gingerbread-decorating kits that benefit families in need. All proceeds raised will be donated to families of Pleasant View Elementary School.

Sarah Huard, Sales Associate from our Providence office, has been an active member of City Year since graduating from college. She answered the call and asked for at least 6 volunteers to help. Within minutes, she had a full team of colleagues ready and willing to participate in the baking process.

“City Year is a vibrant part of our community and I try to do as much as possible to stay involved,” says Sarah Huard. “I was happy to join the Gingerbread Project, and delighted when so many of my colleagues and friends were just as enthusiastic and willing to engage.”

Huard, along with Carl Henschel, Doug Bell, Karen Wilder, Nelson Taylor, Ben Kean, and Robin Lake arrived at Ellie’s Bakery at 10AM on Monday morning. With the help of three Ellie’s employees and one City Year liaison, our team baked over 350 cookies in two hours.

Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty agents are passionate about giving back to the community. “The team genuinely wants to help and is proud of making our communities a better place to be”, adds Huard. “City Year’s motto is #MakeBetterHappen, and as I looked around the room, I saw a level of character and unadulterated happiness, and I couldn’t help but to think we were doing just that – making better happen.”

To purchase your Gingerbread Kit, please visit elliesprov.com/product/gingerbread-kit