The writers from 123helpme.org also took part in the developing of this site.

The Iowa CRS Chapter is involved again this year in the Chapter With a Heart p rogram, sponsored by the Council of Residential Specialists. To win national recognition, state chapters must be involved in a humanitarian service project and show a commitment to community service.

This year, R. Scott Case of Mel Foster Company in Davenport (and IAR president-elect), has been hard at work helping one family obtain the American Dream of home ownership.

"A lot of the work is talking with the various agencies that are involved and community sources that we have available to help match funds and we have to find a buyer who would be a good match," Case said. "We also want to make sure this is a REALTORŪ-to-REALTORŪ transaction and we like to promote the CRS image."

The state CRS chapter began its Chapter With a Heart program in 1997, which was the first time Case got involved. The plan was to go into the city that was hosting the convention and choose a local family that needed assistance in buying a home.

The money raised goes toward helping a buyer come up with the down payment needed to get into the home.

CRS uses one of the local REALTORSŪ in the marketplace to help the chosen family find a home.

"Usually what we look for are matching funds maybe the lender or the city would match something to put toward a down payment," Case explained. "Were looking for a first-time homebuyer for the most part maybe a young family that we can put into a house.

"This year, Sally Hackett asked me to assist her in finding homes in the Davenport area because I had been involved when the convention was in Dubuque a few years ago. It was kind of a natural fit for me this year, since the convention is in Davenport. Currently we have one home that was purchased and were still looking for a buyer for a second home. The first buyer has already closed and moved into their new home and will be coming to the Awards Luncheon at the state convention in Davenport and talking about how this program assisted them."

Case also pointed out that sometimes its difficult to choose the right family for the program.

"Its a combination of money being available and a house being available," Case said. "The people have to go through an 8-week course. We tell the agencies that we have money available and they give us a couple candidates that need this type of funding."

The fun and rewarding project, funded by the Iowa CRS chapter, moves from city to city and uses a different CRS representative every year. Case says its a great learning tool and well worth the time and effort.