Donning Santa’s signature red suit, Salvation Army volunteers ring bells enticing you to drop spare change into a shining red bucket outside your local supermarket. Inside, you’re likely to find a Toys for Tots or Adopt an Angel Christmas tree beckoning you to add the items from one more child’s wish list to your shopping cart.
This time of year, the spirit of giving is evident everywhere you look.
And while individuals and corporations nationwide admirably offer their time or open their wallets for charitable causes at the end of every calendar year, for Houston-based AmCap Mortgage, Ltd. the season of giving never really ends.
Since being taken over by new ownership in 2007, AmCap has made giving back to the communities in which it operates a top priority, beginning at the corporate level and trickling down to the divisions, branches and individual employees.
Today, the company sponsors and participates in multiple philanthropic events each month, many of which are initiated by employees with a passion for a particular cause and then adopted by their branch and often even by AmCap corporate.
The power to initiate change
According to AmCap’s CEO P. Garrett Clayton, giving employees the power to initiate change in their communities with the backing of the entire AmCap team builds comradery within and between branches, as well as offers a way for loan officers to interact with their community members in a capacity beyond their mortgage lending services.
“We’ve always been a company who cares," Clayton said. "Our philanthropic outreach is about showing our employees that what matters to them matters to us, and about giving something back to the communities that support our business. I’ve always believed a business has to be about more than the bottom line, it has to be about people."
Among the charities near to Clayton’s heart is The Folds of Honor Foundation. In 2014 and 2015, AmCap partnered with IMG Financial Group to host its Annual Charity Golf Classic benefiting the foundation, which provides scholarships and financial assistance to the children and spouses of those killed or disabled while serving our country.
This year, the tournament raised $26,200 for this noble organization.
Causes to support
In addition to spearheading the Folds of Honor Foundation efforts at the corporate level, AmCap encourages its branches to seek out causes to support. Throughout 2014 and 2015, AmCap branches and employees have supported events ranging from Race for the Cure and mobile mammogram stations to high school athletic programs. In the past two months alone, AmCap branches have rallied behind multiple causes.
AmCap’s Hope Tree division has been working with Clifton Middle School, HISD, Spark Park of Houston and Asukura Robinson for the past year and a half to build a SPARK Park for the school, with groundbreaking for the park finally occurring on November 16 and an anticipated opening date of November 2016.
The AmCap Premier division was also busy this November, participating in the Agents Helping Agents Bowl-a-Thon, which raised more than $12,000 for Pearland agents who may need help during a time of crisis.
Gold Financial, another AmCap division, also found time for a good cause,with division president Mike Goldman and his wife attending both Eva’s Heroes Casino Night and Teed Off at Cancer Casino Night in October.
Holiday giving
AmCap loves any excuse to help their neighbors — and the holidays are no exception. The Colorado division, Major Mortgage, recently collected toys for the Salvation Army during its annual Donate for Date Night. The corporate headquarters in Houston collected over $6,000 worth of toys that benefited NAM (Northwest Assisted Ministries), Silver Santa, Houston Fire Department, Depelchin Center, and one special family who recently lost everything in the floods.
The larger point at AmCap is no one has to wait until Christmas to lend a hand. There is always someone who needs a little extra boost to get back on their feet, an organization that needs funding for their latest research, or a child who has yet to experience the magic of Old Saint Nick.
Regardless of when or where, the people of AmCap are a reminder that every moment is the right one to give back to the community around you. And who doesn’t want to work with a company whose core values include a generous spirit?
To learn more about AmCap’s philanthropic endeavors and mortgage lending services, visit the AmCap website.
While attending an industry conference, AmCap’s Kate Smargiasso spent her breaks between meetings building a rocking chair for Camp Boggy Creek in Florida.
