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Mentors from Morreale Real Estate honored with CCSD 89 Community Service Award
Twice a month, 10 employees of Morreale Real Estate Services arrive at Briar Glen Elementary School during lunchtime. They head for the school’s library where the kids eat lunch, and the adults share advice and play games with the students. The result has been hundreds of hours spent building and important partnership for the children and the Morreale team.
“The kids are all smiles as soon as they see their mentor. They really look forward to that day,” said Briar Glen Principal Mitch Dubinsky. “I’ve seen the impact that an outside person has on those students.”
At an all-staff meeting on Wednesday, the employees of Morreale Real Estate Services received the Community Consolidated School District 89 Board of Education “Community Service Award” in honor of their contributions to mentoring students.
“We’re so thrilled that the employees of Morreale Real Estate Services have created these incredible connections with Briar Glen students,” said CCSD 89 Superintendent Dr. Emily K. Tammaru. “Our district is grateful to have such strong partners that make time to support the young people who are the future of this community. It is an honor to thank Morreale for their commitment to kids.”
Morreale Real Estate Services is a family-owned relocation services company with offices in Glen Ellyn and Texas. Morreale Real Estate Services has more than 45 years experience offering the highest level of customized solutions in the corporate relocation industry. The firm is part of the Morreale Family of companies, which includes a Glen Ellyn law firm and title company.
The president of Morreale Real Estate, John C. Morreale, is a graduate of Briar Glen. He was in fourth grade when the school opened. John C. Morreale and his three siblings were among the first students at the school, and their mother was the PTA president.
When Morreale Real Estate was developing company initiatives for 2017, the company made community service a top priority, and set 400 donated hours as the collective goal. Dubinsky and Morreale Real Estate Chief Operations Officer Aaron Raffel connected to set up the program.
At Briar Glen, each Morreale mentor is paired up with one student through the year. They play games, color, read, or find other ways to connect with the students. The students often want to show the mentor their best schoolwork, Dubinsky said. In October, mentors brought pumpkins for the kids to decorate, and there was an end-of-year pizza party for the students and mentors.
Most important, it gave the kids another adult that they can trust, look up to, and rely on.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership,” Dubinsky said. “I don’t see this going away anytime soon.”
Photo:
Debby Lopardo, Morreale Real Estate Chairman John F. Morreale, Carolyn Micetic, Michelle Skaleski, Laura Medina, Aaron Raffel, Julie Cwik, Trish Wolf, Sheryl Nash, Morreale Real Estate President (and Briar Glen alum) John C. Morreale, Karen Ciszek (not pictured Janessa Johnston)