On Saturday December 17, 2011 a group of eager Quicken Loans mortgage bankers were able to "make a DIFF" at The Salvation Army in Warren, MI. This particular group of bankers who came to volunteer, were all on the same team. These folks work day in and out alongside one another, yet never had the opportunity to do so outside of the office. I knew this was going to be exciting!
    Upon arriving to the Salvation Army, all of our volunteers were greeted by a friendly staff member, and were soon given a task. When asked what they wanted to do, the group responded, "anything and everything possible...that's what we are here for!" Up for a challenge, the group was taken to the room where all clothing donations are dropped off; to their surprise about 100 black bags filled with clothing and odds and ends covered the floor of the room. In true team fashion, they formed an assembly line and dove into the mountains of clothing. Not only did the group sort, color coordinate, and organize the entire room by gender and age; they wanted to do more!
    Shortly after completing the clothing donation room project, the entire team headed to the pantry and freezer for some serious seasonal cleaning. After an hour of scrubbing appliances, polishing cook-ware, and re-stocking shelves with food, the kitchen area and pantry had never looked better! The group was extremely inquisitive,  and asked how many people were selved by the kitchen and shelter at this particular location and decided they wanted to do more. After washing up and saying their goodbyes, the team took a trip to a local grocery store for some "last minute" holiday shopping. The team pitched in funds and purchased health and beauty products, flipflops, sleepwear, cleaning supplies, and toiletries and donated these goods.  Due to their hard work and generous donations, this team really made a DIFF for the people served by The Salvation Army of Warren.  What an AMAZING display of team work and overall experience at the Salvation Army.

To learn more about The Salvation Army, and their annual Red Kettle Campaign click here.