The COVID-19 global pandemic created vast uncertainty and hardships for many American families, and in response, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation announced that it is doubling down on charitable efforts through its affiliated non-profit organizations and company-wide volunteer initiatives to provide critically important services for local communities and those in need.
In 2020, Fairway Cares, the non-profit arm of top-10 mortgage lender Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, provided comfort through the delivery of 1,355 care packages to those who faced a critical illness, sustained physical trauma, or lost a loved one. Those efforts nearly doubled in 2021 with volunteers at Fairway Cares packaging and delivering more than 2,400 care packages.
Additionally, Fairway supported health care professionals who are directly treating COVID-19 patients. Fairway Cares partnered with nutritional and well-being specialist Isagenix to provide 200 immune-boosting, dietary bundles to these vital, frontline workers. The care bundles were completely paid for by Fairway volunteer fundraising efforts and made available for any Fairway employee’s family member serving as a frontline health care professional.
As a non-profit that is totally funded by Fairway employees, we work hard to make every dollar count and to maximize the value of the package contents. Each week we have volunteers come to the office to gift wrap some of the items. When people receive these specially wrapped items it adds to the feeling that the gift was specially prepared for them. We had more than 14 volunteers log a total of 610 hours in 2021.”
Sherri Anderson, CEO of Fairway Cares
This year Fairway Cares is looking to build on the momentum and plans to double results through a new initiative, Fairway Cares Champions. The Fairway Cares Champions, who are the top volunteers at the nonprofit, will magnify the reach of the Fairway Cares Team and help all of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation better understand the impact Fairway Cares is making.
In 2021, from April to September, Fairway Cares led related, additional fund-raising initiatives. The Pedal for Packages and Pound the Pavement campaigns encouraged employees to raise money for extra care packages.
Fairway encourages its employees to give back to their communities through its Volunteer Paid Time Off program through which teammates can be paid for up to a day’s volunteer work per year. Fairway volunteers contribute thousands of hours of time across the country in programs addressing issues from Education to Health to Hunger.
Furthermore, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is dedicated to serving our veterans through its nonprofit American Warrior Initiative (AWI). In 2021, AWI provided 101 service dogs to 101 deserving veterans, more than double the previous year. Fairway founded the non-profit AWI in 2015 as a way to give back to active-duty service members, veterans, and first responders, and to help local branch efforts to fund initiatives for these deserving heroes of America.
Fairway underwrites all expenses of the non-profit American Warrior Initiative and Fairway employees have donated millions of dollars to AWI, enabling the organization to provide funding for hundreds of service dogs for deserving veterans and active military members over the past five years. Their contributions also enabled AWI to donate more than 230 gift cards to veterans in 2021.
“We were honored to play a small part in helping military families this Christmas by gifting 150 gift cards, $100 each, to 150 military children,” said Louise Thaxton, the Director of American Warrior Initiative. “None of us can do everything but all of us can do one thing, and for us this Christmas, it was giving back to the kids!”
About Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is a full-service mortgage lender with a wide array of innovative products that help make homeownership more affordable with the speed and service its clients deserve. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Fairway is dedicated to finding great mortgage options and providing some of the fastest turn times for its borrowers.
Since opening our doors 26 years ago, our team has helped thousands of Americans achieve their dream of homeownership. We have been dedicated to providing unparalleled customer service. Fairway now employs nearly 11,000 team members, including more than 3,000 producers and over 600 branches nationwide. With a strong focus on purchase business, we continue to grow each year, funding more than $71 billion in 2021. Putting Americans in homes is what we do! #FairwayNation