Keller Williams Realty Tractor Trailers Arrive with KW Cares Hurricane Florence Relief for KBT Realty Group - Keller Williams' Wilmington NC Community

WILMINGTON, N.C., Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Florence's slow devastation of a wide swathe of southeastern coastal North Carolina, which has impacted the lives of more than 300 Keller Williams agents, their families, and their communities, Keller Williams Realty associates have responded by raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in pledges and donations for Keller Williams Realty Cares. A streamlined process for requesting assistance has been opened for KBT Realty Group - Keller Williams agents and agent families.

Four tractor trailer trucks will arrive in storm-ravaged Wilmington, North Carolina during the day on Thursday, September 20, 2018, and the KW Cares disaster relief team will stay in Wilmington as long as required. Crews will be assisting Keller Williams agents and their immediate families with post-storm clean-up, supplies, generators, fuel, temporary lodging, and emergency stipends to cover meals and daily cost of living during storm recovery.

KW Cares will stage Hurricane Florence disaster relief efforts out of the warehouse at 306 Old Dairy Road in Wilmington North Carolina. The warehouse space is being donated for the KW Cares relief effort by George Taylor, Chairman of TRU Colors Brewing, and Untappd, Inc. The 40,000 warehouse is the future site of TRU Colors Brewing commercial brewing operations.

The KW Cares Hurricane Florence relief effort is traveling to Wilmington, North Carolina, from its first stop in New Bern, North Carolina.

Founded in 2003 by Keller Williams Realty CEO Mo Anderson, Keller Williams Realty Cares (KW Cares), provides disaster relief to Keller Williams Realty agents. Since its inception, KW Cares, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, has raised more than $1 million to help the Keller Williams Realty community in times of need. KW Cares has provided assistance for past natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Harvey, and Hurricane Charley.

"I'm proud of the support and caring that Keller Williams provides to the KW family, which includes KBT Realty agents and their families," says Kirk Pugh, KBT Realty Group Broker Realtor. "Knowing that the company is behind its agents is a huge support emotionally, as well as financially. We will make it back from the blow that Florence dealt the area, and KW Cares helps speed that process along."

Prior to the storm, KW Cares polled its nearly 200 associates from Hampstead to Ocean Isle to determine evacuation plans and storm assistance need. In the 48 hours before Hurricane Florence reached the Cape Fear North Carolina coast, more than $70,000 in pre-storm donations had been advanced to local Keller Williams agents to offset the cost of evacuation: money to cover food, lodging and travel to keep people out of harm's way.

"No KW agent should be forced to remain in the path of this storm based on financial need," says Ladd Gasparovic, Operating Principal, KW Wilmington.

About KW Cares

Established in 2003, Keller Williams Realty Cares, or KW Cares, is a 501(c)3 public charity that is supported by Keller Williams Realty associates and offices nationwide. The charity provides emergency financial assistance to any member of the KW family during times of extreme hardship. Last year, KW Cares raised more than $800,000 in aide for Keller Williams Realty's associates, which helped to pay bills, pay insurance deductibles and medical expenses for many associates in times of extreme hardship. All gifts to KW Cares are tax-deductible and go directly to those who are in need. For more information, visit KW Cares online at (http://www.kwcares.org).

About KBT Realty Group

KBT Realty Group is an independently owned and operated division of Keller Williams Realty. With more than 20 Realtor/Brokers and a team of real estate transaction support professionals, all working toward satisfying the home buying and selling objectives of clients, KBT Realty Group (http://www.findhomesinwilmingtonnc.com) has more than 100 years of combined experience in the Cape Fear and southeastern North Carolina coastal area. KBT Realty Group was founded in 2013 by partners Kirkland E. Pugh, Becky Brown, and Tyson Emery.

SOURCE KW Cares