The Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS® on May 25, 2022, donated $2,500 to the Lehigh Valley Marine Corps League.

Each year, the president of the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS® selects an organization or charity of choice to support. 2022 President Howard Schaeffer, a former active-duty United States Marine and REALTOR® with RE/MAX Real Estate in Allentown, Pa., chose Lehigh Valley Marine Corps League Detachment 296.

In selecting the Lehigh Valley Marine Corps League as a beneficiary, Schaeffer reflected back on when he first signed his contract to serve his country.

“In April 1987, when I signed that contract, I knew the United States Marine Corps and my service would be dear to my heart long after my active duty came to an end,” Schaeffer said. “Like REALTORS®, the Marine Corps League also serve the community in which we reside. The Lehigh Valley Marine Corps League Detachment 296 serves our local community, both with time and with finances, and I felt it important to support this organization during my year as president of the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS®.”

According to Schaeffer, who became a Life Member of the Marine Corps League in 2015, the programs offered by the organization would not be possible without support from the community. Detachment 296 is a completely volunteer run organization, with 100 percent of monies donated going right back to veteran causes and into the local community.

Among the organization’s services are military funerals for fallen veterans – no matter their branch of service; a Color Guard is available for ceremonies, parades, and other patriotic events; hospitals and nursing homes are frequently visited to provide conversation and the lifting of spirits; old and tattered flags are given a proper retirement ceremony each year; and so much more.

“Detachment 296 serves in so many ways,” Shaeffer said. “Service is part of a Marine’s DNA. I’m thankful, as president of the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS®, to have been given the opportunity to give back to the Marine Corps League, an organization that has been such an important and impactful part of my life.”