REALTORS® Help Preemies
Grant for Parents Support Group

Realtors help to sell or buy a home. But that’s not the only way they like to help, as parents of prematurely born children (“Preemies”) found out last week: The Preemie Specialty Group of Las Madres Neighborhood Playgroups, Inc., a nonprofit organization for the support and education of young children and their caregivers, has received a grant from the Sunnyvale/Cupertino District of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors^® (SILVAR).

Niki Miller Maroko, a broker associate with RE/MAX Real Estate Services, accepted the grant on behalf of the Las Madres Preemie Specialty Group. Miller Maroko had founded the group after her experiences giving birth prematurely to each of her children. The check was presented by SILVAR director Mark Burns, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Cupertino.

“We are extremely grateful for this grant,” said Miller Maroko. “It will help fund long-needed programs that provide support to parents of premature babies.” Having a premature baby is a unique experience that parents shouldn’t be left alone with, she pointed out. “Thanks to the support of local Realtors, now our Preemie Group has the necessary funds for outreach to other parents.”

The group plans to print flyers and to put together care packages for members with babies still in the hospital with the $1,000 it received for that purpose. “Niki’s initiative is a great example of the many different ways that our trade association’s members are involved in their communities,” said Mark Burns. “SILVAR is committed to the welfare and prosperity of the communities where we live and work. Realtors not only sell homes, they can be counted on as neighbors.”

SILVAR, the local trade association of the real estate industry in Silicon Valley, represents more than 3,500 members. It  can be found on the Web at www.silvar.org. Through its Charitable Foundation trust and donations from Realtor members and “Affiliates” – businesses that provide real estate related services, like mortgage lenders - grants are available to support community organizations.

Las Madres Neighborhood Playgroups, Inc. – on the Web at www.lasmadres.org - is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit public benefit organization in Santa Clara County. The main purpose of the organization is to provide a network of neighborhood playgroups for those with children born in the same year. It also offers neighborhood and community-wide parental forums for educational information exchange between parents.

Preemie Specialty Group Contact:  Niki Miller Maroko, 408-644-0833 (Preemie Group hotline)

Photo Caption:

From left: Mark Burns, SILVAR Director, Niki Miller Maroko, Preemie Group Founder and Director, Melissa Liu and Larissa Beckstead (both Preemie Group), Bailey Beckstead, Preemie.