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FEATURE: REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards
 Ernest (Chuck) Ayala: Center of love for a city’s seniors BY TRACEY C. VELT At 82, Ernest (Chuck) Ayala is old enough to be a client at Centro Latino de San Francisco. But Ayala is the founder of the center, which provides low-income seniors with meals, transportation, bilingual assistance, and health assessments. “The center is my commitment and passion,” says Ayala, broker-owner of Ayala Real Estate in San Francisco. “It started 33 years ago as a once-a-week lunch program. We now feed more than 2,100 seniors each year and have a full community center.” Centro Latino’s mission is to help the elderly obtain the economic and social support they need so that they can function independently and live with dignity, says Ayala. “The Latino population in the Mission District was underrepresented and underserved. And we don’t serve only Latinos. Many nationalities come to us for meals.” One of the services Centro Latino offers is helping seniors become citizens. “I love to see seniors get their U.S. citizenship. We have a big party; they cry,” says Ayala. Many years ago, his mother decided to become a citizen as a result of her participation in a senior center. That experience inspired Centro Latino. “I saw how a community-based center could provide services for seniors,” he says. No one knows the kindness of Ayala like Donald Hall, who worked for Ayala in 1984. “Chuck was, and still is, very dedicated to the biblical mandates of ‘service to all humanity,’ ‘love thy neighbor as thyself,’ and ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’—traits that are taught as the highest and best way of living,” says Hall, a 62-year-old disabled senior. “He’s never boastful. If you want to know what good works Chuck is up to, you have to observe carefully and ask questions.” Last year, Hall was living in Arizona and in ill health. “I needed to move back to San Francisco and get a decent room, so I tracked down Chuck,” says Hall. “When I got to San Francisco, Chuck and Centro Latino sent me hot meals every day. They offered me rides where I needed to go. They advised me on how I could qualify for a Social Security supplement and how to get medical insurance. Chuck’s desire to help me possibly saved my life,” says Hall, who suffers from pulmonary disease. “There are so many instances of his kindness,” says the center’s executive director, Gloria Bonilla, who has known Ayala for 27 years. “He provides tutoring and one-on-one counseling so that anyone can succeed,” she says. “He’s always willing to give someone the benefit of a doubt. He realizes that some individuals are more gifted than others. But he genuinely feels everyone has the capacity to learn.” Centro Latino is like home to many, says Bonilla. And seniors don’t just benefit from the center; they work there too. One man in his late 70s comes to the center to sweep floors and wash dishes, Ayala says. “His wife always comes with him, and now that his son is a senior, he also volunteers.” At this stage in his life, Ayala has stepped back from some of the day-to-day operations of the center. However, he’s still president and CEO of the board and volunteers about 20 hours a week. “I write proposals to foundations to [help] retire our $338,000 mortgage debt. And I’m constantly visiting the center.” He also helps develop new programs and organize the annual Irish-Mexican Cinco de Mayo fund-raiser, which was started in 2000 and raises about $10,000 a year. Ayala’s advocacy for seniors ex tends beyond the center. He has served on the California Commission on Aging for six years—chairing a transportation subcommittee that discussed disaster preparedness for adults living in long-term care facilities—and was appointed twice to the White House Conference on Aging. But the senior center continues to be his main focus. “Centro Latino is a home to many,” says Ayala. “Mi casa es su casa—that’s what it represents. It’s a sanctuary for seniors and immigrants.”
Rob Cronin: Fighting the fear of the Big C  Sharon Friend: Guardian angel for children BY JIM HATFIELD Ask those who know her, and they’ll tell you Sharon Friend more than lives up to her name. Over the past 11 years, Friend has de voted thousands of hours to The Children’s Service Guild, a Las Vegas nonprofit dedicated to assisting children touched by the family court system. Its mission is to help both young victims of crime and youthful offenders with medical and dental care, clothes, toys, bedding, and other essentials not covered by government funding. As president of the guild for the past six years, Friend has been instrumental in raising $1.8 million to benefit abused, neglected, and troubled children in one of the country’s fastest-growing metropolitan areas. She also oversees volunteer programs and steps in to help meet unusual needs. “If you care about children, you do what needs to be done to help them,” says Friend, a broker with Las Vegas Realty. “A baby didn’t ask to be born addicted to crack. A 5-year-old didn’t deserve to be set on fire.” People who’ve seen Friend in action say she’s a marvel of energy and effectiveness. “Whenever a child or family has a special need, we call Sharon,” says Cherlyn Townsend, director of the Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services, just one of the dozens of agencies supported by the guild. In one instance, Friend found a way to fill an urgent request for a special hospital-style bed and motorized wheelchair for a quadriplegic child. The child had just been admitted to Child Haven, an education center for more than 5,000 children a year under the protective custody of the Clark County, Nev., court system. “If we’d waited for Medicaid or for some other government assistance, the child would have done without for weeks or even months. Sharon got it done in days,” says Lou Palma, manager of shelter services for the Clark County Department of Family Services. “I’m totally impressed with her commitment to children placed in protective custody.” In addition to Child Haven, The Children’s Service Guild sponsors Spring Mountain Youth Camp, a correctional facility for boys who’ve had minor run-ins with the law. The 100-bed camp provides academics, athletics, and counseling to more than 230 young men a year. Friend credits her 28 years as a real estate professional with honing the skills that enable The Children’s Service Guild to respond so efficiently to a wide range of requests. “As a real estate professional, I learned how to manage my time, which is what it takes to be successful, whether you’re closing a real estate transaction or trying to schedule medical care for a sick child,” says Friend. Since Friend sells real estate full time, volunteers an average of 35 hours a week, and also finds time to remain close to her three children and six grandchildren, she has clearly mastered multitasking. She says spending time with her own grandchildren gives her insights on how to communicate with the youngsters helped by the guild. “Once you discover how needy these children are, you just can’t say no to them,” she says. “We received a note from one 13-year-old who’d had abscesses in his mouth. He wrote, ‘Thank you. I didn’t know my mouth didn’t have to hurt.’ He had never been to a dentist.” No project affecting a child’s well-being is too big or too small for Friend’s attention. Says Adrienne Cox, a former division manager of Child Haven, “Sharon and the guild assumed a leadership role in raising millions for the construction of a new school and two new cottages and for the renovation of cottages that were badly in need of repair. At the same time, Sharon will find a prom dress for a foster child. Children who lack caring and safe homes have a good friend and a good neighbor in Sharon.” Friend brushes off such tributes, saying she’s not looking for accolades. “A child’s smile is the only reward I need,” she says.
Lolita Junk: Changing the lives of troubled teens  David Sonenberg: Strong leadership is key to helping BY JIM HATFIELD David Sonenberg remembers how his late mother used to confront the suffering she saw in the world, saying, “There but for the grace of God go I.” With that mind-set, he resolved to find a way to help those in his community facing temporary crises get back on their feet. In 1983 Sonenberg and some friends raised $23,000 to start the North Fulton Community Charities in Roswell, Ga. It’s a multifaceted services organization that today helps more than 11,000 people each year with emergency aid. Support can take the form of food, clothing, medical supplies shelter, fuel, home repairs, and even mortgage assistance. NFCC calls itself a grassroots organization that takes people who want to help and puts them in touch with others in need, sometimes assisting as many as 100 families a day; it has an annual budget of $2 million. “Whatever the need is, we try to help,” says Sonenberg. “Our vision and mission are the same today as they were when we began more than 20 years ago, and that’s to make a difference in the lives of people in our community.” Sonenberg, president of a family commercial real estate company, The Sonenberg Co. in Roswell, volunteers more than 1,000 hours per year to NFCC. He also contributed $35,000 last year. “I believe that, as real estate professionals, we have an obligation to make our communities better,” he says. “I love where I live, where we raised our family, and where I work. I hope that through my involvement in NFCC, I’ve made a difference.” He has, indeed, made a difference, says retired minister and NFCC board member emeritus Cy Mallard. “David and his wife, Carolyn, saw a need and had the vision and the determination to meet it.” One NFCC client, a single mother who was cleaning houses to pay her bills, says she received food, financial aid, and counseling for her daughter, who was languishing after her parents’ divorce. “NFCC even found me a nice suit for an interview that resulted in a better job as a receptionist,” says the woman, who requested anonymity. Those helped by NFCC show their gratitude in many ways—some with just a smile, others with a letter and, occasionally, a check. “We helped one young woman when she was inundated with bills. When she got back on her feet, she sent us $70, asking us to help someone else like her,” says Sonenberg. Not everyone NFCC helps is a local resident. Sonenberg recalls that in 2005 NFCC was “swamped” by 375 families fleeing Hurricane Katrina. The organization became the focal point for coordinating the entire community’s assistance to the victims. “We raised special Katrina funds, assisting evacuees with clothing, food, shelter, and airfare to reunite families. Most important, we let them know we cared about them,” he says. Also in 2005, NFCC celebrated one of the most important milestones in its history—the dedication of a new headquarters in a 20,000-square-foot former motorcycle store. The ribbon cutting was a tribute to NFCC and to Sonenberg, who’s credited with leading the 18-month capital campaign that made the new building possible. “Integrity and hard work are essential to success, not only in real estate but in leading a major community-based charity,” says Roswell attorney Jeff Hamling, vice president of the NFCC. “North Fulton is fortunate to have David Sonenberg in the community.” Perhaps the most telling tribute to Sonenberg comes from longtime friend Trummie Patrick, who has worked closely with him on community events for more than 30 years. “David has been a tireless worker and a great supporter of whatever our community has needed. His mother would be very proud of him.”
More About the 2006 Good Neighbor Awards Thanks to our 2006 sponsors REALTOR® Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards are made possible by our generous sponsors. Founding sponsor eNeighborhoods Inc. (www.eneighborhoods.com), which has supported the program since its inception, provides real estate practitioners with marketing tools built around the detailed data it has compiled on every neighborhood in the United States. Fannie Mae (www.fanniemae.com), the nation’s largest secondary market agency, is dedicated to expanding homeownership opportunities for all Americans. LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. (www.landam.com) is a leading provider of real estate transaction services and is on Fortune magazine’s list of most admired companies for 2006. Thanks to our 2006 judges Bonnie J. Boyd, ABR, ABRM, CRB, CRS®, GRI, NAR Housing Needs Committee chair; Sharon Canavan, director of Government and Industry Relations for Fannie Mae; Martin Edwards Jr., CCIM, 2002 NAR president; Patricia S. Fitzgerald, CRB, CRS®, GRI, NAR Communications Committee chair; Richard Gaylord, CIPS, CRB, CRS®, GRI, NAR first vice president; Glyn Nelson, executive vice president of residential services for LandAmerica; Frank J. Sibley, REALTOR® Magazine publisher and NAR senior vice president of communications; Stuart Siegel, CEO of eNeighborhoods Inc.; and Dale A. Stinton, CAE, RCE, executive vice president and CEO of NAR. MORE ONLINE
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