Monterey Coast Realty agent Kim Bartholomay has a special knack for helping those looking for a home. With a nuanced professional background, Bartholomay has developed a wide range of skills and lively outlook on life that make her an exceptional realtor. As an involved member of the board of directors at Peace of Mind Dog Rescue, Bartholomay also uses her benevolent traits to contribute to her beloved Monterey Peninsula in more ways than one. "My heart is always my community. I love being with people, I love helping people, I love serving people, and I love connecting with my people."
Bartholomay has worked on the Jamal Noorzoy Residential team since September of 2022, and says it's a great fit. "He's my mentor, and I couldn't have aligned with a better person. He's the perfect person to raise me in this industry." Becoming a realtor is Bartholomay's latest endeavor, but was far from her first. "I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be selling real estate. My interests—or what I thought my interests were—were something else, but it allows me to be who I'm supposed to be. I mean, you do so many different things in real estate. Those things just completely aligned with my personality and who I am. And I just could not be happier. It's the most welcomed surprise that I've had."
Bartholomay worked in makeup artistry before moving onto medical esthetics. Looking for a different avenue in the medical world, she got her EMT license. "I learned a lot. I saw a lot, and I did a lot. And I wouldn't take anything back and I don't regret any time spent there, but compassion fatigue is real, and fatigue fatigue is real, and I'm really sensitive. It just changed me as a human and how I showed up. It didn't make me the person that I wanted to be."
A workplace injury made her switch gears, and opportunity sprung when her good friend, agent Renee Catania, introduced her to the Monterey Coast Realty. "I met with Rob [Profeta] and then I met with Dan [Lynch], and realized there's no other place where I belong." The company had all the components Bartholomay wanted. "Everyone is amazing, and who they are—the local company that's been around for over 100 years— and the philanthropy that they do."
Bartholomay made her way to Monterey when she started dating childhood friend Noah. "When I would visit him, I just connected with the community and I connected with the area—it felt like home to me. And I was like 'Hey, I know we're just dating, but even if we stop dating, I'm still living here!'" Noah ended up being her match, and they've spent 12 years here as a married couple. In 2020, while helping him organize a fundraiser for the one-year anniversary of the opening of his business, Harbor Light Tattoo in Monterey, Bartholomay came across Peace of Mind Dog Rescue. "I found Peace of Mind and instantly was like, 'How do I not know about this local amazing organization?' I immediately aligned with them. They showed up with a bunch of adoptable pups to our event. So, every single year after that, for his anniversary, we do a fundraiser for them."
Peace of Mind Dog Rescue, also known as POMDR, was cofounded by Carie Broecker and Monica Rua when a friend of Broecker's became sick. She took care of her friend's dog, and made a vow that she would find a loving home for the animal. That turned into a full-fledged mission—prioritizing finding homes for senior dogs, and helping senior citizens or those with health issues who can no longer take care of their pets. "We do cater to senior people and disabilities, but we also do it for people that aren't seniors as well. We do our walking brigade, we have temporary fostering if some unexpected medical situation comes up, we transport, we can take them to the groomer or the vet," Bartholomay emphasizes.
After that first fundraiser, Bartholomay, her husband, and their previously rescued husky mix, Atlas, attempted to foster a "super mutt" named Roman from POMDR, but it didn't work out the way they expected. They ended up adopting him as their own, followed by Ella the Poodle mix. The self-proclaimed "foster failure" went on to volunteer for the organization, training fosters and throwing events for them. She is honored to have recently joined their board of directors. Bartholomay not only selflessly donates a portion of every single real estate transaction to Peace of Mind, but also advocates by spreading the word about pups who need homes. "I feature [POMDR's] mission on any postcards I send out, and I also feature an adoptable pup on every E-blast I send out!"
"I think it's very important that you find what is meant for you. Dogs are just what I do. But it could be something else for you and it's just the importance of volunteering and giving back." - Kim Bartholomay
According to Bartholomay, fosters are vital to the rescue, especially due to the lifetime commitment POMDR promise to their animals. "They will pass in our program if we don't find them a home. We will, until the end of that dog's life, take care of them. Say we adopted a pup out to somebody and that person passes away, they come back to Peace of Mind and we will find them another loving home." Bartholomay believes everybody can contribute something to POMDR. "If you have a specialty in dog grooming, come be a dog groomer! If you have photography, you can do that for us, graphic design, biography writing, there's so many different ways you can be a part of it."
Real estate now shares the same special place in Bartholomay's heart as volunteering always has, and she credits her philanthropic background to helping her be such a hard, and happy, worker. "I think it's very important that you find what is meant for you. Dogs are just what I do. But it could be something else for you and it's just the importance of volunteering and giving back."
Chili the Shar Pei mix
Don't let his name fool you. This sweet boy is all sugar and no spice. He's just bursting with love, and he'd love to share it all with you. Chili wants to be your adventure partner, always ready to greet life with a happy snort. With Chili by your side, you can take on the world together.
Fenway the Cairn Terrier, Chihuahua mix
Sweet Fenway is looking for a forever home where he can spend the day snuggling, especially if those snuggles also come with his favorite treats. Though Fenway can take a few minutes to warm up to new people, once he does, he's very excited to make new best friends.
