The Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors has donated $2,500 to the Lehigh Valley Marine Corps League.

Each year, the president of the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors (GLVR) selects an organization or charity of choice to support.

GLVR 2022 President Howard Schaeffer, a former active-duty United States Marine, is a Realtor with RE-MAX Real Estate, Allentown. He 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 the United States military.

“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 with time and with finances. 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 volunteer-run organization, with 100 percent of money donated going to veteran causes and the local community.

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

“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.”

Information: www.lvmcl.com