PRESS RELEASE: REALTORS ANNOUNCE FUNDS TO SUPPORT TORNADO VICTIMS
Richmond, VA (June 13, 2016) – The Southside Virginia Association of REALTORS® (SVAR), in conjunction with the Virginia Association of REALTORS® (VAR), has been awarded funds by the national REALTOR® Relief Foundation to support Virginia residents affected by the destructive tornadic storms in late February of this year. Responding to the ongoing need of rehousing those who were displaced by damage and loss, the Southside Virginia Association, along with VAR, will administer the funds through an online application process, open now to residents in the affected communities through www.varealtor.com/relief.
“Parts of Sussex County were decimated by storms in late February,” according to 2016 SVAR President Ron Hardy. “We hope these REALTOR® funds will to ease the ongoing challenge for neighbors who lost homes or whose homes have been too damaged to live in since the tornadoes.”
The REALTOR® Relief Foundation (RRF) is a charitable foundation governed by the National Association of REALTORS® and dedicated to providing housing-related assistance to victims of disasters. Funds are generated by individual member gifts and contributions from state and local associations across the country.
The REALTOR® association will review applications and issue funds directly to eligible residents until the money is fully expended. RRF guidelines specify the qualifications for receiving support. Direct financial assistance through this fund is exclusively for housing relief in the areas severely affected and for victims who lost or sustained significant damage to a primary residence. Each applicant is eligible for up to $1,200 in support for either mortgage expense or the cost of temporary shelter due to displacement from a damaged or lost home.
Citing the housing challenge that remains even months after the crisis, 2016 VAR President Bill White says, “As ambassadors of our communities, REALTORS® are on the frontlines of restoring what is fundamental to the comfort of each and every one of us – a home. With these funds we can now supplement the generosity and assistance that the Virginians have offered since the first hours of the storm.”
For more information on these funds, visit www.varealtor.com/relief.