Luke the Frenchie is NextHome's mascot and he turned eight years old on June 15, 2022. Every year on Luke's birthday, NextHome offices around the nation set the day aside for community service. Because "the places and people we serve are at the center of NextHome's corporate philosophy" (Charis Moreno, VP of Sales). Providing community service gives each NextHomie the chance to pause and recenter on who and what we are...a company that puts #HumansOverHouses. 

This year for Luke Day, my office of NextHomies at NextHome Cornerstone Realty got together and we volunteered at the Twin Cities Pavilion. The Twin Cities Pavilion is a senior living community in Niceville, Florida. Our efforts focused on beautification of their outdoor gathering space, spending time talking with the residents and listening to their stories, providing them lunch with a special dessert of strawberry ice cream, and gathering donations of snacks and other necessities for the residents. 

I am a mom of four boys and I was blessed to have three of them there volunteering alongside me. The 16 and 13-year-olds were really good at the landscaping details and heavy lifting while the 5-year-old won the hearts of the residents with his sweet smile. I think volunteering as a family is a wonderful way to spend time together. I think is it not only important for children to volunteer, but also for them to "see" their parents volunteering and giving of their time, as well. 

Not only did the NextHomies help out, but we also got gardening donations from Walker's Ace Hardware Bluewater Bay. Guaranteed Rate Niceville also stopped by to provide us with refreshments for all of our hard work and sweat (there was a lot of sweating going on 🥵💦). 

All-in-all it was a great day to be a mom, volunteer, and NextHomie.