Employees from Chicago-based Draper and Kramer, Incorporated, a full-service national real estate firm, have helped a group of Chicago students have a great start to the school year by donating more than 300 backpacks filled with back-to-school supplies.
The donation is an extension of Draper and Kramer’s involvement with the Wood Family Foundation’s “Pitch In” after-school mentoring program. In 2014, a team from the firm’s Commercial Finance Group began mentoring students after school one day a week at Chicago’s Lawndale Academy. Soon thereafter, the team decided they wanted to do more. The result was an annual company-wide effort through the Wood Family Foundation to collect funds to buy and fill backpacks for students at the school. This year, Draper and Kramer employees from across the company raised enough money to buy and donate 382 backpacks filled with back-to-school supplies – enough for every child in this preK-8 school, and nearly four times the number of backpacks the firm donated in 2015.
“These kids are just so great. It’s really wonderful to have watched them grow up over the time we’ve worked with them,” said Jane Kanan, senior vice president at Draper and Kramer. “Our employees feel very strongly about giving back to the community, and we love that Draper and Kramer supports us in these efforts.”
According to Kanan, Draper and Kramer is proud to offer a robust charitable giving program that raises money for 501(c)(3) organizations selected by the company’s employees. Organizations are chosen based on their reputation and commitment to address the needs of the communities they serve, while placing emphasis on supporting local organizations in the Chicagoland region whose visions address the betterment of the city and the people in it.
About the Wood Family Foundation:
Despite the curveballs that may come their way, everyone should be given a chance in life regardless of resources or geography. The Wood Family Foundation facilitates relationships that provide support and opportunities to empower youth and their families to succeed in life.
The Wood Family Foundation’s Pitch In after-school mentoring program is a cohort-based, group mentoring program based in the North Lawndale neighborhood. It is designed to offer unique learning experiences and opportunities for personal growth to students in 4th through 8th grades. By focusing on the core competencies of social-emotional learning, the foundation aims to help young people thrive in their personal lives, their family lives, and their school lives.
About Draper and Kramer, Incorporated:
Founded in 1893, Draper and Kramer, Incorporated is family-owned and one of the largest privately held full-service real estate firms in the U.S. Draper and Kramer is headquartered in Chicago with a national reach and broad offering of services. The company’s expertise spans residential and commercial property management and leasing; debt and equity financing for commercial properties; residential and commercial acquisition and development; and residential mortgage services through Draper and Kramer affiliate 1st Advantage Mortgage. Draper and Kramer provides a single source of real estate-related counsel to a diverse group of investors in real estate across the U.S including corporations; private and institutional owners and users of real estate; government agencies; condominium associations; and foundations. For more information, visit www.draperandkramer.com.
Employees from Chicago-based Draper and Kramer raised money to donate 382 backpacks filled with back-to-school supplies for students at Chicago’s Lawndale Academy.