Kensington Vanguard's Matt Schmeelk Tells You Why You Should Attend Covenant House's Sleep Out
When he's not providing clients with title insurance, Kensington Vanguard National Land Services senior EVP Matthew Schmeelk serves on the New York board of Covenant House, as he's done for the past six years. And, on Sept. 29, Matt will be participating in his sixth SleepOut, which we discussed last week. But what is it about this event that has inspired Matt so much?
It certainly isn't the sleeping, as he recalls the freezing cold late November winds during the SleepOut's first year.
"It certainly wasn't comfortable sleeping on hard concrete without a pillow," he tells Bisnow.
But, he says, the discomfort made him realize just how much he takes for granted sleeping in a warm bed and having love and support.
As he listened to the stories of 17-year-olds who had to find shelter in crack houses, sleep on subway grates for warmth, and have been physically and sexually abused by family members, Matt's heart broke, and he says he knew he had to do something about it.
That's why Matt—alongside Angelo Gordon's Danny Rudin and Atlas Real Estate Partners' Arvind Chary—wants to keep the event growing across the US. While Thor Equities acquisitions director Scott Sherman and Mission Capital Advisors director Gregg Applefield have expanded the SleepOut to Florida, Los Angeles and New Jersey, Matt hopes the real estate community can join together at every one of Covenant House's 21 locations.
After all, he says, no one understands the needs for homes like the real estate community. And, with homelessness on the rise, the community needs to help more than ever.
"The kids are no different than any of us," he says. "They're just victims of bad circumstance and whatever we can do to get them back on their feet, we're here to help."
The event has more than 40 company teams and 200 sleepers from companies such as Angelo Gordon, Cushman & Wakefield, Deutsche Bank, SL Green and Silverpeak. It's also sponsored by Atlas Real Estate Partners, Duval & Stachenfeld, M&T Bank, Kensington Vanguard, Sills, Cumins & Gross and Marsh.
