The North Texas Realtors in Action Foundation, the Collin County Association of Realtors’ charitable organization, has been providing support to victims of the Dec. 26 tornado. “CCAR wanted to start a charitable organization to aid area residents for a long time,” said Mary Leidy, CCAR CEO, in a news release. “It just so happened that after weeks of filling out and filing paperwork, as well as meeting with accountants and attorneys, we received our official ‘okay’ to do business just three days before the tornadoes hit.” The foundation planned to hold a kick-off event to announce its creation; however,  within hours of the tornadoes touching ground, CCAR and its foundation began collecting truckloads of donations for the Red Cross. Realtor volunteers were also helping with the clean-up efforts and monetary support was being provided to victims. “I don’t know of any other organization out there that can say 100 percent of the money donated to aid tornado victims actually goes to the victims,” said Matt Hilton, CCAR past-president, in the release. “I’m proud to say that CCAR’s North Texas Realtors in Action Foundation is able to give 100 percent of all money we receive to aid tornado victims to those actually impacted by the tornadoes. To be able to do that has made a tremendous impact for those individuals who have contacted us for support.” Since the tornadoes, CCAR’s offices in Plano, Wylie and Dallas have received support from the real estate community. At its Disaster Relief Donation Drive event on Jan. 4, the monetary donations received added to the more than $16,000 that the foundation has raised. All of the money raised will go directly to local tornado victims who contact the foundation for assistance. “Since 2011, I have led groups of around 20 to help with debris clean-up in several disaster areas such as Joplin, Missouri, Moore, Oklahoma and West, Texas,” Hilton said. “I had the honor of leading over 100 volunteers in the last week in the debris cleanup efforts in Collin County and Rowlett. We have worked hard as a team in these initial days and we will be deploying again in the weeks to come.” The North Texas Realtors in Action Foundation encourages those affected by the Dec. 26 tornadoes to contact CCAR at 972-618-3800 for assistance. In addition, CCAR has partnered with the Texas Association of Realtors to promote the Realtors Relief Fund, which provides up to $1,000 to those who have suffered losses due to natural disasters in Texas. More information and an application for assistance can be found at www.texasrealestate.com/relief.