At Union Home Mortgage, giving is an inherent part of our company’s culture, but that didn’t start with the UHM Foundation – it started from the beginning from partners that have made giving back a priority in their lives.
Written by Christina Fagan and Nicolette Fee
At Union Home Mortgage, giving is an inherent part of our company’s culture, but that didn’t start with the UHM Foundation – it started from the beginning from partners that have made giving back a priority in their lives.
Every year, we like to celebrate and lift-up these partners that are making a difference in their communities through our annual Partner Impact Awards. This year, the UHM Foundation’s advisory board had the huge challenge of selecting just 5 winners from an amazing list of 13 nominated Partners – each reading stories of care, impact and a desire to just make the world a better place.
Each winner gets to choose a non-profit organizations to receive a $2000 grant from the Union Home Mortgage Foundation!
We are so excited to announce the 2020 Partner Impact Award winners:
Jim Ford, UHM TPO Business Development in Marietta, GA
Jim has spent the last four years volunteering as a Crisis Counselor at the Crisis Text Hot Line and the last two as a Board Member of the American Foundation for Suicide, after losing loved ones himself to suicide. He has volunteered 1,178 hours of his time and handled 3,718 conversations with texters who were in crisis of any type and in pain, and currently is a Level 9 counselor (out of 10 max).
As Jim’s nominator said “Jim is passionate about maintaining a positive attitude and works tirelessly to serve his community. He has been trained to receive and respond in a truly empathetic manner and serve people that truly need someone to reach out to. I can't imagine anyone I'd rather have on the other end of the line in such a dire situation.”
Jim’s other efforts around suicide awareness and prevention, include co-chairing the Loss and Healing Committee, assisting in the planning and preparation of Vigils surrounding World Suicide Prevention Day, producing weekly mental health update videos, participating and raising money for AFSP through their Out of Darkness Walk and recently co-chairing a virtual Survivor Loss Day in Atlanta.
Jim has chosen the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention as his $2000 recipient!
Congratulations, Jim!
Tim Brigham, UHM Branch Manager in Chicago, IL
After Tim’s son was diagnosed with RSV and spent a few days in the hospital, he realized quickly how hard the staff at the children’s hospitals work and how much they do for the children. He was inspired to find a way to bring joy to the staff and pediatric patients. What started off as an effort, along with his friends, to dress us as superheroes and deliver toys to hospitals quickly turned into his own nonprofit venture – called the Superhero Collective.
Recently, the Superhero Collective is taking their efforts one step further in renovating a home located near one of the leading pediatric centers that will be donated to a family currently experiencing a health crisis for their child, so they can minimize travel back and forth while their child receive the medical care they need. As Tim’s nominator put it “Tim becomes emotional every time he thinks about the team of volunteers who helped demo the whole house in just four hours to make way for a better life for a family they’ve never met.”
Tim has chosen the Superhero Collective as his $2000 recipient!
Congratulations, Tim!
Mark Vinciguerra, UHM Regional Vice President of Servicing in Sylvania, OH
Mark has donated his time for years supporting individuals with special needs, from advocating on their behalf at the state and local level on regulatory issues to establishing St. Isidore Farm. St. Isidore Farm was created as a place for individuals who are handicapped by physical, as well as mental disabilities. Here, they are taught to work with horses and alpacas, as well as learn farming techniques. Additionally, these disabled individuals are then taught how to turn the wool into yarn used for clothing, as well as harvest produce planted on the farm. They then are taught how to sell the products themselves to the general public and at farmers markets with proceeds returning to the farm’s programs and some to the individuals.
All programs are supervised by Mark and a few skills coaches, who receive no compensation for these efforts. This program has received local recognition in Monroe County, Michigan. As Mark’s nominator put it “The vertical integration of the facilities is a thing to marvel at. All parts of this facility that they established for these disabled individuals provide an opportunity to learn valuable life experiences.”
Mark has chosen Helping Hands at Isadore Farms as his $2000 recipient!
Congratulations, Mark!
Derek Rogers, UHM Branch Manager in Clarksville, AR
Derek serves several roles outside of his fulltime job at UHM. He is a Johnson County firefighter and a member of the dive rescue team and the assistant coroner. Derek has performed search and rescue operations and is trained for water rescue. As Derek’s nominator states “Derek is a bit of a local hero saving people and being there to help. But you would never know it, because he doesn’t talk about it, doesn’t brag about it, he just does it.”
Derek lives in a small county with large forests, cliffs and white-water rafting that make it somewhat dangerous, and require a lot of his time outside of the office. Derek’s nominator also mentioned, “it didn’t strike me as to how important people like Derek are until my best friend was found dead in his home by his mother and Derek was there comforting her and taking care of business on a Saturday morning. Derek’s impact is felt throughout the whole county and surrounding area.”
Derek has chosen the Johnson County Dive Team as his $2000 recipient!
Congratulations, Derek!
Sam Hardy, UHM Loan Officer in Columbus, OH
Sam has served on the Nationwide Children’s Development board for 4+ years. He has served on the executive committee for 2 years and has participated in raising over $1.2M dollars for the Hospital. Sam was asked to join the board by a fellow real estate industry professional and thought it was an awesome way to give back to a city who has given them so him. This year, Sam is the Co-Chair of the Woody Hayes Celebrity Golf Classic, their committee meets (Zoom’s) every Friday at 7.30am to make sure they are meeting their fundraising goals and engaging the community in the work that Children’s is doing.
Sam has chosen the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation is his $2000 recipient!
Congratulations, Sam!
Congratulations to these 5 awesome individuals for their work in their communities and with the UHM Foundation. We are so thankful to have so many incredible UHM Partners who are making a difference in the world each and every day!
