Dear IMOTO Friends, Family, and Customers,
This year, IMOTO set the goal of giving back to our community. To do this, we created a 12 month "Give Back Campaign" where we focused on a different cause each month. As the year comes to an end, we are so proud to look back at the impact we made and the causes we promoted. Here is our year in review:
January: Blood Drive - When we learned about the unprecedented blood shortages due to the Pandemic, we knew we had to do something. So, we launched the "Pics for Pints" campaign. IMOTO photographers, staff, and customers from across the country went to their local blood banks and hospitals to donate during this month-long blood drive. The Blood Drive was a huge success, and we can't wait to continue the tradition in 2022.
February: Black History Month - We had so much fun celebrating famous black photographers throughout the month of February. Through our social media pages, we featured photographers like Gordon Parks, Carrie Mae Weems, Roy DeCarava and more.
March: Random Acts of Kindness - In March, we decided to celebrate all types of kindness by rewarding our customers for being nice! This campaign brought many smiles to our friends, families and community members.
April: Earth Month - Instead of celebrating Earth Day, we decided to make the celebration last all month! Our "Picture Perfect Planet" campaign included, eco-friendly tips, volunteer events with Reve Realtors and City Park, and donations to the National Forest Foundation.
May: Habitat for Humanity - We got our hands dirty in May by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Hilton Head and partnering with Keller Williams Hilton Head for their annual Red Day! Not only did we make a difference, but we also had a great time!
June: Animal Shelters - We knew we wanted to do something special for animal shelters...and with that, the #IMOTOFurryFriends Campaign was born. We incentivized photographers, staff, and customers to post pictures of their shelter pets as a way to raise awareness for animal shelters. IMOTO also promoted ways to volunteer or donate to shelters across our markets.
July: IMOTO Gives Back - Many of our IMOTO photographers and staff members are passionate about great causes, and regularly give back to their community. In July, we highlighted our fantastic IMOTO pros! From coaching kids, to picking up trash, to feeding the homeless, to volunteering at animal sanctuaries, it is clear our IMOTO team has a heart for giving back!
August: Back to School - With school back in session, IMOTO focused on an amazing organization that helps fight inequality in education - the Kids In Need Foundation. We were happy to help them with their mission of providing supplies that "Let teachers teach and let learners learn."
September: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - IMOTO has always been passionate about childhood cancer research and awareness, but this month we stepped up our game by partnering with the Pablove Foundation! The Pablove Shutterbug program gives kids living with cancer a creative outlet through photography, and IMOTO couldn't be more excited about the mission. We created a Master Class that teaches Pablove Shutterbug alumni how to shoot real estate photography so they can take their photography skills to the next level. Our partnership with Pablove will go well-beyond September's Childhood Awareness Month, as we are excited to continue to support this incredible organization.
October: Fight Hunger - When we learned about the Free Little Pantry Movement, we knew it would be the perfect way to "fight hunger" in the communities we serve. With the motto "take what you need, leave what you can," the mutual-aid focused movement relies on neighbors helping neighbors. We located Free Little Pantries in all of our markets, and stocked them up with nutritious and shelf-stable foods. Many of the IMOTO pros have committed to incorporating Free Little Pantry-stocking into their monthly routines.
November: Thanking Seniors - November is all about being Thankful, and this year we wanted to focus our thanks on our senior relatives, friends, and community members. By promoting ways to give back to elderly people, we hope they felt the love this Thanksgiving season.
December: Charity - As part of our 2021 Give Back Campaign, we committed to donating a portion of our profits to charity. In December 2020, we let our customers choose 3 charities in which we would donate to at the end of the year. These charities are: (1) The Pablove Foundation, (2) Habitat for Humanity, and (3) The ASPCA. Our customers were able to choose which charity they would like us to contribute to EVERY time they placed an order, and we are happily donating to all three amazing causes.
Thank you so much for going on this 12 month journey of giving back. The support we got from our customers was unprecedented, and we know that together we made a difference.
Stay tuned for more impactful opportunities to give back in 2022.
Sincerely,
Darryl Glade, CEO
