Every year in November, we attend the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation Gala. This past Friday was the 5th year for the charity gala and it was a stellar event!

We’ve posted about the Shelter Foundation in the past and in particular about the annual Royal LePage Garage Sale for Shelter held at Royal LePage offices across Canada every May. We believe very strongly in the importance of giving back to our community, especially to those who are most vulnerable and marginalized, and one of the ways we do this is through our support of and participation in the Shelter Foundation. Through donating a portion of every commission we receive and through the fundraising events that we organize and participate in throughout the year, we do our utmost to bring hope and provide a safe shelter for those who need it most. We’re honoured to be in the top 10% of Shelter Foundation donors in Canada.

The numbers aren’t in yet, but between the live and silent auctions we think a record may have been set at the Gala this year! I know that a dinner for 6 with our President/CEO Phil Soper went for $4000. Hey, he’s a very popular guy!

So what’s up with the faux fur? The “pre-loved” fur coat featured in the above photo was purchased for $3.75 from the Salvation Army by two Calgary Realtors – Dave Shulz and Chris Matlashewski – during the Royal LePage National Conference in 2008. Fittingly, the Salvation Army they bought it from supports the prevention of spousal abuse.

Since then the beloved faux fur has been auctioned off at each conference to the highest bidder – who gets to keep it for the year and have their name immortalized on the lining of the coat. This scruffy cast-off has raised about $17,000 so far for the Shelter Foundation!

Unfortunately we are not the current keepers of the coat. That honour belongs to a group of Realtors at Royal LePage Westside in Vancouver who were cunning enough to band together to win the coat for 2011/2012 but also kind enough to let the faux fur make a visit to the Gala this year. But we do intend to do whatever it takes to bring the faux fur to Ontario next year – so be warned Westside!!!