Ross Mortgage uses H.O.P.E Initiative to Rejuvenate Detroit with Life Remodeled
Giving back to the communities we serve and reside in is a key component of our company culture and core values. This summer, as part of our H.O.P.E. initiative, we closed our offices for one day and brought more than 60 employees together to help clean up and rejuvenate a local Detroit neighborhood.
As part of the initiative, we teamed up with Life Remodeled, a Detroit-based nonprofit charity that invests approximately $5 million of labor and materials into one Detroit neighborhood each year.
Collectively, our team volunteered more than 480 man-hours rebuilding, remodeling and rejuvenating Central High School and its surrounding area by removing blight, picking weeds, tearing down bushes, picking up garbage, cutting lawns and creating safe pathways to schools and homes.
In every contribution our employees make, both individually and through company opportunities like this one, they take great pride and passion in supporting the local communities within which we live, work and play.
Here are a few things our team had to say about their experience:
“We tackled abandoned homes that were overgrown with brush, tall grass and garbage. You could barely make out the home before we started. We cleared the brush away from the home by clipping down trees and bushes, mowed down tall grass, cleared sidewalks, collected trash into garbage bags and piled up all the brush to be picked up. It was eye opening to see just how much work was done in the neighborhoods by all the volunteers. I’m glad Ross Mortgage gave us the opportunity to do something like this. It was great experience. As a company, we had a great turnout. We worked hard and I feel like we made a difference.” – Mark Dushaj, Loan Coordinator
“It is an amazing feeling to be part of a team that truly cares about the community in which we live. There is no greater feeling than building camaraderie with co-workers while giving back in a way that means so much to so many.” – Angie Cullum, Assistant Treasurer/Human Resources
“The best part of the event was when the local residents would come out and thank us for what we were doing.” – Renee Sanger, Assistant to Senior Loan Officer Marc Edelstein
“It was truly an awesome day, and I was very proud to represent our company in helping others.” — Patsy Street, Chief Operations Officer
We’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our employees that donated their time and effort to helping us support Life Remodeled’s mission of rejuvenating Detroit one neighborhood at a time.
