Putting a spin on the traditional real estate open house, the Wilton office of William Raveis Real Estate has created fun event to link open houses for six of their clients’ homes on the market with a fundraising effort to help a breast cancer organization.

The event, a Twilight Open House Tour, will be held this Thursday, July 17 from 5-7 p.m. and will benefit the William Raveis Breast Cancer Fund. According to Raveis agent Lisa Bender, the Fund has raised more than $1.6 million since 2004 to support the William Raveis-ASC Patient Navigator Program at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, CT, and the Patient Navigator Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Together the programs assisted more than 1,300 patients in 2012 alone.

For Bender, the effort hits very close to home–her own mother is recovering after treatments following a November breast cancer diagnosis, and a similar patient navigator program provided huge help during her mom’s treatment and recovery.
“It struck a chord with me. She’s doing great, but she was very thankful that there was someone who helped her navigate the process. Navigators help women make their appointments, so that they don’t have to worry about logistics. It was so awesome for my mom. They took care of everything. I was so happy there was someone to help get her through the process,” Bender said.
Six properties represented by William Raveis are on the tour:  32 Charter Oak Dr., 116 Belden Hill Rd., 132 Belden Hill Rd., 137 Linden Tree Rd., 104 Cheesespring Rd. and 650 Nod Hill Rd.
There is no ticket to purchase to attend the open houses–visitors are welcome at any or all of the properties over the two-hour event. At each location there will be raffle tickets for purchase at $5 apiece for the chance to win prizes, including jewelry, American Express gift cards, Nordstrom gift cards, an iPad Mini, a 50-inch LED Smart TV, a Dell laptop, and more. Proceeds from the sale of raffle tickets will go to the breast cancer fund, and purchase of raffle tickets isn’t required–only hoped for, said Bender.
 
In addition, anyone who visits all six of the open houses will be entered into a wine gift basket drawing.
Bender added that Twilight open house is one creative way they hope to put a spin on the run-of-the-mill open house. There will be refreshments offered at the houses, including wine and cheese or other treats.
“It’s a more relaxed setting, some people are having dessert, it’s the summer, and it’s nice to see a home at a different time than the usual morning or afternoon times,” Bender said, adding that some of the houses on the tour haven’t yet been opened to the public–they’ve only been seen by real estate brokers. “It’s a great chance to see these homes.”
Raveis Breast cancer full flier Twilight OH Fundraiser Flyer REV[4]