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Community Involvement

Community makes up who we are. As an association, our members and affiliates desire to invest in their communities: local, regional, state, and national. East Tennessee Realtors strives to provide opportunities and resources for our members to do just that.

REALTORS are Good Neighbors

Every year, the National Association of REALTORS® hosts a week of volunteering as a part of their REALTORS® are Good Neighbors program.

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This year, REALTOR® Volunteer Days are May 30-June 7, 2026. Projects to get involved with during Volunteer Days will be posted.

Dogwoods Across the Knoxville Region

Dogwood Arts - Brazillion Blooms logoIn September 2022, the National Association of REALTORS launched a Tree-Planting initiative. The goal was to plant 1.5 million trees across the country. As a part of this goal, East Tennessee Realtors is working with Dogwood Arts to plant 500 trees in the East Tennessee region. These trees will not only beautify the landscape of the association and Knoxville community, but also provide clean air, and a sanctuary for local wildlife.

 

Click HERE to order your Dogwoods

Birdies for Backpacks

Since 2010, East Tennessee Realtors has supported the children of Youth Villages through the Backpack Heroes initiative. Over that time, Association members have provided backpacks completely filled with school supplies for over 4,000 children. That totals over $300,000 in generous donations. Money for this program is raised through the Birdies for Backpacks Golf Tournament. Birdies for Backpacks raises $15,000 each year to fund the Backpack Heroes program at Youth Villages. This program provides backpacks and school supplies to children in need across East Tennessee. Because of your support, 300-400 fully supplied backpacks were provided each year for students from Chattanooga, all the way to Johnson City, Tennessee.

You can read more about East Tennessee Realtors' involvement with Youth Villages HERE

Increasing Literacy with Little Libraries

In 2021, only 40% of Knox County students were reading on grade level by the third grade. East Tennessee REALTORS partnered with Read City USA as a part of an October and November community involvement initiative.

Association members built 13 Little Free Libraries that were installed in the 12 county region that the Association serves. Brokerages and agents sponsored the libraries and continue to monitor them, keeping them stocked and maintained.

Check out the article from KnoxTN Today: Jacobs Thanks KAAR for Reading Boost

In 2023, East Tennessee REALTORS members built 7 more Little Free Libraries that were placed around a 12 county region.

Refugee Children Christmas Donations

This past December, East Tennessee REALTORS is partnered with Bridge Refugee Services to provide Christmas gifts for refugee children in Knoxville. Over 200 gifts were donated and wrapped by Association members and staff. Bridge aims to provide opportunities for refugees to rebuild their lives after suffering persecution so that they may become productive, contributing members of the community.

Latest News:

Q3 2022 Market Pulse Survey

By Hancen Sale | October 18, 2022

Market Pulse Survey – Q3 2022 The Market Pulse Survey gathers on-the-ground information about local market conditions from members of the Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS® based on their client interactions and real estate transactions in the previous three months. Key Findings Both buyer and seller traffic declined in the third quarter. 58% of respondents…

Knoxville skyline

2022 State of Housing Report

By Jeff | March 8, 2022

The State of Housing Report is published annually by the Knoxville Area Association of REALTORS® to provide its members, community stakeholders, and policymakers a comprehensive analysis of East Tennessee’s housing market using the latest available data. The report explores emerging demographic and housing market trends to help real estate practitioners and industry leaders better understand the region’s housing challenges and how to address them.