b'Friend,Realtor, SponsorFinding Home with Vanessa PollockBY ELLEN DONKERD I N G H ON MIF ED iedre and Mike AyersThe Ayers family at home: Mike, Emma, Diedre and Liam. raise funds.knew that it was timeI was like, Okay, Vanessa, this is me put-they got a house withting on my booster hat. Youre not involved morespace.Resi- in any sporting events. How would you love dentsofMaplewoodto be a sponsor, like the first sponsor ever of since2011,theyhadCHS boys basketball?Wanting to broaden twochildren,Liamprimary suite, room to accommodate her mom,Pollock Properties Groups (PPG) support be-and Emma. I just couldnt even imagine our sonample closets and a pool. The bonus? It was move- yond the arts, Vanessa jumped at the opportunity. growing big in this house, Diedre says. Althoughin ready. We were just like, This is it. This is ourHer caveat was that she wanted the sponsorship to they had plenty of room to build onto the back ofhome,Diedre says. And Vanessa [said], Im onbe fun, and interactive while inspiring generosity.their home, the couple didnt want the hassle, stat- it. I am getting you this house.This led them to come up with the PPG3: For ing that they are not renovation people.The timing couldnt have been better. Governoreach three-pointer scored at a home varsity game, What really pushed the Ayers to move, though,Murphy had reopened access to the beaches on theshewoulddonate$100,upto$5,000.Every was Diedres desire to relocate her mom from At- weekend of the open house. So although housestime one of the boys scored, Diedre says, the lanta to their house. She was very sick. We werehad been attracting 15 or more bids, this house onannouncer was at the microphone [saying], thats thinking we would have enough time to buy athat particular weekend garnered just three offers.another PPG3. You know, people would cheer, new house, move her up to live with us and beDiedre remembers sitting in a parking lot whenand it was really exciting. And the boys really got with us, she says. Diedre asked Vanessa Pollock, aVanessa called her, with Mike conferenced in, to tellinto it. By the end of the season, the team had friend and former neighbor, to help. them they got the house. All of us started crying,made 49 three-point shots, equating to $4,900. Diedrespentmuchofhertimeduringtheshe says[Vanessa] could see the journey of whereVanessa rounded it up to $5,000. summerof2020inAtlantahelpinghermom.we wanted to be, and she found the right house forDiedremarvelsattheconnectednessoflife When I would come back, Vanessa was awesome.us. Diedre adds that although her mother saw theevents that have shaped her familys journey. It She would have these houses ready for us to gohouse, she was never able to move into it. all just started because Vanessa and I ended up look at and dive into, Diedre says. But the intenseDuring and after their quest for a new home,beingneighbors. bidding wars during the Covid-era market madethe Ayers friendship with Vanessa and her hus- Shehelpedmefind finding the right house difficult.band, Charlie, grew. Last year, their son Liam wasmyhouse,which One day, Vanessa took them to the Newsteada sophomore on the CHS boys varsity basketballblossomedourrela-section of South Orange. We were just blownteam. When the families were having dinner to- tionshipintothis, away, says Diedre. We didnt even know aboutgether, Diedre mentioned that she was a co-leadDiedresays.And this area of South Orange. We would drive up byfor the teams booster club. She explained that thethen we helped each the reservation, [and] Id be like, Who lives overboosters budget is for merchandise for the kids,other reach our goals there? What is that part of town?When Vanessasuch as sweatshirts and T-shirts, practice jerseys,in this way of giving showed them a ranch house on Crestwood Drivetraining and the year-end banquet. But when sheback to this commu- Vanessa Pollock helped in July 2020, Diedre and Mike were impressed byand her co-leader stepped in, there werent evennity we just love.the Ayers family find a house to better accom-the large kitchen, its five bedrooms, including abasketballs. They needed to find ways to quicklymodate them.32/ matters magazine / summer 2025'