New Jersey Real Estate Industry to Sleep Out to Support Homeless Youth

Who: New Jersey Real Estate Industry

What: Covenant House Sleep Out For Homeless Youth

When: Thursday October 12th at 7pm through Friday, October 13th at 7am

Where: Christ Our Light Church
402 Kings Hwy N, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034


On October 12th, our friends in the real estate community are going to transform the lawn outside Christ Our Light Church into a place of hope for the thousands of youth Covenant House New Jersey serves each year. These are people who have banded together as an industry and decided they want to walk in our kids’ shoes, and experience, if only for one night, some of what our kids go through. The funds they are raising will go to support the work that Covenant House does in Camden, NJ. Visit newjersey.realestatesleepout.org for more and to donate.


Read on for a compelling personal account from Len McLean of The McLean Team at Weichert Realtors, a veteran supporter of Covenant House New Jersey’s Real Estate Sleep Out:

“Last September (2016), my wife, Lisa, and I were enjoying a morning away from the office at the Burlington Camden County Association of Realtors’ Breakfast of Champions. We are a husband and wife real estate sales team with Weichert, Realtors in Medford, NJ, and that day we were being recognized with a Superior Performer Award for our total sales volume in the second quarter of 2016. It was at this event that one of the speakers, Jen Williams, came up to the podium and shared about the Covenant House International NJ, its mission, and its purpose in helping to keep teenaged kids off the streets. She shared a testimony of a young girl in Atlantic City who was destitute and homeless, who was given a fresh start in life thanks to the Covenant House International NJ. Everyone in the room was encouraged to support CHINJ in the first ever Sleep-Out “Real Estate Edition” in the weeks ahead. I turned to my wife, the only person who knew my story at the time, and said, “I have to do this. I have to help.” And my mind drifted back…
It happened to me. I had endured years of physical abuse at home, and at the age of 16 my mother kicked me out. I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and so I was forced to live on the city streets of Philadelphia. I found myself hungry, dirty, cold, and alone.
I found employment at a grocery store a few days a week from 3-9pm, then worked a second job pumping gas from 11pm-6am. I ate whatever food that the gas station discarded in the dumpster at the end of my shift. After each long day, I would walk up a dark alley on Miller Street, climb a 6-foot concrete wall, and sleep for a few hours, outside in a friend's yard, until it was time to go to school later that morning. These two jobs enabled me to put myself through my Junior and Senior years at Northeast Catholic High School for Boys and support myself. After 9 months of sleeping in my friend's backyard, I found a small "room for rent" on Girard Avenue and lived there paying $55.00 a week so I could (finally) have a roof over my head.
After I graduated high school, the promise of "3 hots and a cot" was one I couldn't pass up, so I enlisted and became a United States Marine. My story improved, and my life blossomed from there, but those months of barely scraping by on the streets of Philadelphia have become a cornerstone in my life, and have absolutely shaped the man I am today.
Because I was there, because I lived it, because I know what it is like to not have a home, I am choosing to, once again, raise money for other homeless teens through The Covenant House International NJ Realtors' Sleep-Out event on October 12, 2017. I will join other Realtors in raising money for this worthwhile cause and I am committing to sleep in a cardboard box for an entire night as well.
Last year I was successful in raising $8,700.00, and was one of the last two men standing at 6:30am after a sleep-less night of torrential rain, sideways wind, and heartfelt dedication by all those who organized the entire event. It was humbling to be able to share my personal testimony, and incredibly moving to have received the response and support that I had, both personally & professionally. Sharing my story publicly wasn’t easy for me, however, I truly feel that if the circumstances that happened in my life can be a source of inspiration, hope, faith or encouragement, to someone else going through a trying time of their young life, then I am more than grateful to have my story to tell. My personal fund-raising goal is $5,000.00 this year; I am pledging to match the first $2,500.00 that I receive.
It's kind of ironic; A homeless Realtor®. One of the reasons why I am so passionate about my job as a Realtor is because when you go without a home, you recognize just how important “home” is. No matter if it’s a 1-bedroom rental unit, or an 8-bedroom mansion… Helping people succeed in acquiring a home that suits their needs is nothing short of rewarding to me. I am so thankful for the Covenant House International NJ and all they do for homeless teens. Raising money, and sleeping in a box for one night, to help save kids from the homeless crisis, is the least I can do. It is a cause that truly ‘hits close to home’.”

Contact: Len McLean, The McLean Team, WeichertRealtors
Cell (856) 874-6360 cell
McLeanTeamHomes@gmail.com
http://bit.ly/LenMcLeanSleepOut

Contact: Jen Williams, Covenant House
Office (609) 348-4070, ext. 2238
Cell (609) 289-2412
jawilliams@covenanthouse.org