Holiday spirit is in full force in the San Diego, California office of One Reverse Mortgage, a Quicken Loans sister company. One Reverse team members held a toy drive to support the Promises2Kids Give From Your Heart gift campaign. The gifts donated from this year’s gift drive will be distributed to more than 30 partner organizations, and ultimately to San Diego children in need that have been abused, abandoned and neglected. The One Reverse team was excited to be able help make the holidays brighter for children in need in their community.

It's getting harder to donate these days due to the economy. Those who, in the past, donated regularly are even cutting back. Yet, charities need help now more than ever.

Detroit is one of the cities in dire need of support. Detroit's unemployment rate has risen to "17.8% vs. 9.8%" nationally. CNN's article "How to Give When the Giving Gets Tough" lists 13 creative ways to maximize your charitable impact without writing a huge check. It's even got a quote from one of our own:

Your company may be willing to give you more leeway than you think. To raise money for the Michigan chapter of the ALS Association this fall, Tony Nuckolls, 36, a vice president at Quicken Loans' Livonia, Mich., office, found some creative ways to solicit donations from fellow staffers.

In return for a $10 contribution, employees could escape the corporate dress code for a day. Or they could have an executive valet-park their car in the company lot. Campaigns like this generate awareness as well as money, says Nuckolls, whose office raised more than $30,000: "It's a topic of conversation, like viral marketing."

By Aaron Emerson

Every November, many of us take pause to think about the many ways we have been blessed throughout the year.  This year, several teams from Quicken Loans kicked it up a notch and actually took part in spreading some cheer.

Our company has been volunteering with Lighthouse of Oakland for more than four years helping with their Thanksgiving food basket program. This year was a little different – Quicken Loans team members volunteered over a three-day span, working to  sort food and create Thanksgiving dinner boxes for seniors and families that needed a little help this holiday season.

After the food was sorted, my team (marketing and some friends from IT) stepped up to help distribute the items.  As families entered the distribution center, we would gather their supplies, along with a large frozen turke, and help load them into their cars.  The charity also discovered the need was even greater than they expected, so our team also kicked in and helped stuff an additional 120 boxes. 

 I think that I can speak for every Quicken Loans team member who volunteered when I say it was truly rewarding to be part of helping make someone else’s Thanksgiving a little brighter, and to see their gratitude for the help.

To view footage please click here for our you tube video or to see pictures click here!

Quicken Loans joined several other Detroit companies to help Motown celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Motown Museum in Detroit to help keep the memories and history of Motown alive. The star-studded event at the Detroit Marriot was hosted by comedian Sinbad and we heard words of inspiration from Barry Gordy, Jesse Jackson, and a special video from President Barack Obama conveying his well wishes.

The audience danced and sang along to the sounds of the Temptations, Aretha Franklin and stood to their feet when Stevie Wonder asked Kid Rock to join him on stage. Quicken Loans and Fathead.com are very proud of their commitment to make a difference in the City of Detroit.

Check this out now at MSNBC.

By: Victoria Araj

On Saturday, Oct. 3, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association held its annual Walk to Defeat ALS on Belle Isle and more than 500 people, including Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, braved rainy weather to raise awareness for the disease that affects someone every 90 minutes.  ALS, (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the cells that aid in muscle control.

This year, Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson served as the Corporate Chairman for the Walk and he challenged all Quicken Loans team members and its sister companies to raise $75,000 for the disease that affected both his brother-in-law and a close friend.  Through individual team member contributions, internal auctions for unique prizes, creative team competitions such as raffles, themed lunches and even valet parking for a day, the goal was surpassed and more than $120,000 was raised.  Of the total that was donated, the Cleveland office raised $9,000 and the Scottsdale office raised over $10,000 for their respective chapters.

by Victoria Araj

On Saturday, several Quicken Loans team members made their way to the Gleaners Food Bank in Taylor.  Carrie Cabrera brought her son and Jennifer Jones brought her uncle to help and be honorary team members for a day! When we arrived, we were excited to see that there were volunteers from other organizations as well as a local family that visits on occasion to help whenever they can. 

We broke up in groups and sorted bins of food and placed them in boxes according to date. Our Quicken Loans team decided to form an assembly-line process which the other groups emulated-- this allowed us to really make a difference in the time we were there.  Some of the other groups had young children with them and they hopped into the bins to hand us the food! 

My Quicken Loans corporate email greeted me with an invitation to an event – the annual Keith Hamm Foundation fund raiser. Do you know Keith Hamm? I don’t. But, I know Mark Miller, the person who sent the email, and so I read on.

It’s so easy at this point, when reading any email, work or home, to simply delete it and move on. But, I’d like to challenge you to ask a few questions: Who is Keith Hamm? Why is he important? Who is Mark Miller? Why is he doing this? If you take the time to get the story, you just might find a connection. And that connection may surprise you!