Tricounty Suburban Realtors Association Honors Long & Foster’s Kathy Opperman

November 21, 2024
Pictured are several of the Long & Foster Collegeville agents and team, including Rick Opperman, Kathy's husband and co-manager of the office, who have volunteered at fundraisers for Pillars of Light and Love.
Pictured are several of the Long & Foster Collegeville agents and team, including Rick Opperman, Kathy's husband and co-manager of the office, who have volunteered at fundraisers for Pillars of Light and Love.

Recognition celebrates Opperman’s contributions to the community through her charity, Pillars of Light and Love

Kathy Opperman, one of Long & Foster Real Estate’s esteemed managing brokers, has earned the first-place Community Service Award from the Tricounty Suburban Realtors Association. Along with this prestigious recognition, Opperman received a generous $10,000 grant for Pillars of Light and Love, a nonprofit charity that she founded 10 years ago.

“I am truly honored to be recognized by my peers for the work we’ve done through Pillars of Light and Love,” Opperman said. “This award and grant will further our mission and enable us to continue making a difference in the lives of those we serve.”

Since its founding, Pillars of Light and Love has been committed to offering free support groups and empowerment programs to youth and adults in the local community. The recognition and grant received by Opperman serve as a testament to the impactful work the charity has carried out over the years. A few of its recent achievements include opening the So Much to Give Inclusive Café in November 2022, providing employment opportunities to 60 individuals with disabilities. Additionally, in July 2023, the charity launched the So Much to Give Inspiration Studio, an art and music studio dedicated to individuals with disabilities.

More recently, the So Much to Give Inclusive Café expanded to coffee counter service within Montgomery County Community College in Parkhouse Hall, and it opened a second counter this fall in the Health and Science Center at the college. These additions created dozens more jobs for individuals with disabilities.

Pillars of Light and Love also has served thousands with its monthly Kindness Projects. Through this volunteer program, area residents and businesses donate items that are assembled by volunteers and then distributed to hospitals, nursing homes, chemotherapy treatment centers, foster homes, animal rescues, and more. All of Pillars of Light and Love’s charity work is dependent on contributions by the local community, making this grant even more essential for its ongoing efforts.

For more information about Pillars of Light and Love, visit PillarsofLightandLove.org. To learn more about Long & Foster, go to LongandFoster.com.