TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/1066250
10 | TH E M R EP O RT TAKE 5 Since 2011, Bruce M. Rose, Founder and CEO, The Carrington Companies has hosted the Annual Carrington Charitable Foundation Golf Classic in Newport Beach, California, benefiting our nation's severely wounded heroes, which has raised nearly $2 million each year. He spoke to MReport about the work done by the foundation to support veterans and why it was important for the industry to stretch a little for the benefit of those who protect our freedom. M // What was the impetus behind the founding of the Carrington Charitable Foundation? ROSE // The Carrington Charitable Foundation (CCF) was created as a means to give back to the communities that The Carrington Companies work and live in. My wife Rosemary and I had always made donations anonymously, not wanting to bring attention to ourselves. But we realized that when you have 100, 500, then 5,000 employees, more visible leadership could organize a significant impact on whatever cause that the foundation selected to support. By encouraging our as- sociates, professional relationships, vendors, and friends to follow our lead we could raise a lot of capital to help those in need. Further, by allowing our associates to direct some of the giving to causes that are important to them, we could also communicate back that their voices and causes matter. M // One of the CCF's core pro- grams is Carrington House. Can you explain the tenets of this pro- gram as well as how the veterans are eligible? ROSE // Carrington House was originally modeled after the Fisher House program providing tem- porary housing for the families of veterans who were enduring the process of recovery and rehabili- tation at major military medical centers. We recognized that the family unit was a critical element in the physical and psychologi- cal recovery of a catastrophically wounded veteran and wanted to directly address that need. Fisher House unit availability was some- what limited when compared to the patient population in the hospitals between the 2010 and 2015 period, and we thought more temporary housing was needed. However, through our direct con- tact with the veterans through the Veterans Airlift Command, we recognized that availability of per- manent housing adapted to each of the wounded veteran's specific needs was even more critical, so we began addressing that need instead, first with two partner foundations and then on our own. To date, over 30 individual houses have been built, each spe- cifically adapted to the veteran's individual injuries as well as the needs of their families. It is also important to note the participation of Bank of America who donated REO assets to CCF. Carrington Development Company repaired the typically damaged houses and prepared them for sale, Carrington Real Estate sold the houses and the proceeds were rede- ployed in favor of constructing new homes for the veterans that needed them or rebuilding existing struc- tures. The donations from Bank of America significantly enhanced the progress we were able to make and the number of veterans and their families whose needs we've been able to address. M // You mentioned that the Annual Golf Classic raised over $1.7 million to fund veteran programs, on average how much does CCF raise each year to sup- port these programs? ROSE // We have been averaging just short of $2 million annually since our first major fundraising event in 2011. That has enabled us to support a number of deserving veterans' causes, such as the Veterans Airlift Command, which provides free private jet transportation to severely wounded veterans and their families; The Honor Foundation, which assists veterans transition back into the civilian workforce; and organizations like the Travis Mills Foundation, which help veterans rediscover a sense of purpose as they move forward with their lives. In addition to our traditional fundraising activities, we are now working on new Making Veterans Feel at Home How can the industry address the housing needs for severely wounded soldiers?