Quicken Loans team member Ron Wojnar decided to get shaved to help raise money and awareness about lung cancer, a disease that his mother-in-law is currently fighting.

Fellow team member Janet Walker stepped in by bidding $125 for Ron to get his head and face shaved last Friday. Thank you to Ron and Janet for your dedication and compassion in helping Karmanos Cancer Institute with research.

If you ask Ron why he did this, he will tell you it was for his mom. Way to go Ron. You are the DIFF!

By Veronica Floyd

Quicken Loans teamed up with JA Finance Park to help Ushers Camp New Look understand financial literacy. The aim of the camp is to assist young people in becoming future entertainment moguls and entrepreneurs who have heightened awareness of social responsibility.

On Wednesday, August 11, 2010 a group of 25 talented students went through a hands on program to help prepare them for the real world through budgeting and personal financial planning. Upon entering JA Finance Park each student was given an ATM card with a unique life situation attached. Students were assigned an age, marital status, number of children (if any), employment and income. Students determined how much of their income was available to them each month after taxes. Based on their lifestyles and net monthly incomes, students made financial decisions as they visited different stations that exemplified diverse spending avenues. Students visited stations like Allstate for car insurance, Chevrolet for automobile purchases, and Somerset Collection for clothing options. They used stations like these to create and balance their personal budgets. Students soon became conscious that choices and compromises are key concepts for living within one’s means.

Quicken Loans and JA Finance Park is proud to help provide Detroit’s youth with a strong foundation for making intelligent, lifelong, personal financial decisions. Congratulations Ushers Camp New Look and we look forward to working with you again!

By Veronica Floyd

On Thursday, July 29, 2010 the weather was perfect for a cookout. From 11 am to 2 pm, The Quicken Loans Security Defenders team held their 2nd Annual Summer Cookout to benefit ALS.

The Security team took to the grill to cook dogs at the Livonia office to feed hungry team members. There was a line that wrapped around the parking lot, but who can resist a great lunch deal that benefits a good cause. With each donation a team member received a freshly grilled 1/4lb hot dog, chips, a cookie and a beverage. Wow! Now that’s a value meal. For an additional donation team members could get into a drawing for an autographed Shaquille O’Neal basketball and jersey.

Walt Wiessner, Vice President of Security, shared a few words on why he loved organizing the cookout “We all know it’s going towards a good cause. It makes it easier to work when you know where the money is going and that people are going to benefit from it.”

Last year’s summer cookout raised $2534.32 and this year the team raised over $3,200 to benefit ALSA! Thank you MGM for donating the delicious hot dogs and buns. A special thanks to the Security Team for grilling my hot dog just right and for another successful ALSA Fundraiser!

Quicken Loans and its family of companies is a longtime supporter of JARC, and is proud to congratulate their newly-elected officers for 2010-2011. Jeff Eisenshtadt, President of Title Source will be serving as President and David Carroll, Vice President of Quicken Loans as Vice President.

JARC has been helping people with disabilities be included in their community since 1969. This nonprofit agency is dedicated to enabling people live full, dignified lives, and to providing support and advocacy for their families.

Good luck to Jeff, David, and all of the JARC 2010-2011 board members.

What do you get when you mix an opportunity to help a great cause and a little friendly competition? Well at Quicken Loans and our sister company Fathead you get enthusiastic team members willing to give support by volunteering, supporting fundraisers, and participating in charity events.

Each year, Quicken Loans’ own Tony “Brass” Nuckolls and Fathead’s Patrick “Real.Big!” McInnis go head to head competing to see who can raise the most money for the Julie Run 5K, benefiting the Open Door Outreach Center which provides emergency services to families in need throughout Oakland County.

This year, Tony and Patrick jumped right in recruiting walkers and runners for their teams and worked hard with a little creative fundraising. In the week leading up to the 17th Annual Julie Run, Tony and Patrick could be seen walking the floors selling ice cream, or outside washing cars. Team members could back their man and choose which team they would support, the “Pat Pack Team” or the “Brass Nuckolls Team.

You may be wondering who “won” this friendly competition between Tony and Patrick, but I believe this neck and neck contest was too close to call. It is safe to say however, that Open Door Outreach was the definite winner! Quicken Loans and Fathead raised over $4,000 for the 17th Annual Julie Run. I’ve heard rumors that Tony and Patrick are already egging each other on for next year’s event!

Team members from Quicken Loans and its family of companies that participated in the 2010 Susan G. Komen Detroit Race for the Cure were rewarded with tickets to a Tigers game this week. The Detroit Tigers Wives crowned our own Quicken Loans Hearts a Cure team “Rookie of the Year” for being the largest team participating in the race for the first time.

Thank you Detroit Tigers Wives for the opportunity to spend a beautiful summer night at Comerica Park watching the Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles! We’re proud of our “Rookie” Race team, and we’re looking forward to supporting this great cause again next year in our new hometown of Detroit.

By: Veronica Floyd 

On Saturday, 10 Quicken Loans team members, decked out in their bright green volunteer shirts, spent 3 hours volunteering at Gleaners Community Food Bank in Detroit. When we arrived we watched an informative short video about Gleaners and its vital link between available food and those who need it most.

During our time there, our Quicken Loans team split into 3 groups that packed food, assembled boxes, and pulled food orders. My group had a blast pulling orders! I met new people from the Quicken family of companies and different community groups. We worked together to lift heavy boxes of food and even got a good work out doing it!

Despite the heat and humidity, we worked as a team to pull orders, sort food and assemble boxes for a great cause. By the end of our shift, we had packed a total of 50,502 pounds of food which equates to more than 50,500 meals!

Quicken Loans volunteers Stacy McNary and Eric Cullen, stated, “We had fun! We stapled food boxes and had an awesome time! We will definitely come out again to help families in need.”

I want to give thanks for all the team members that came out and volunteered their time. This was my first event without my team leaders Wendy and Lisa and I appreciate everyone’s positive attitude and encouraging words.

Bill Emerson recently announced that he would remain Corporate Chair for the 2nd year to help raise money for the Walk to Defeat ALS.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord. When these cells die, voluntary muscle control and movement dies with them. Every 90 minutes, someone dies as a result of the disease.

Now through July 12, Chase Community Giving is conducting an online voting contest on Facebook to divide another $5 million among 200 local charities. Join Quicken Loans and our family of companies as we help ALSA by casting our vote on Facebook. You can vote for ALS Association of Michigan Chapter every day until July 12.

The ALS Association of Michigan Chapter has reached almost 300 votes and is the ONLY ALS group in the top 100 charities. ALSA still needs more support and votes to reach their goals and we know we can do better in helping them succeed.

Do not miss this opportunity to lend your hand to a worthy cause. With your click, you can help ALS Association of Michigan Chapter win a $250k grand prize. These funds will help ALS lead the fight to cure and treat Lou Gehrig’s disease through major research projects and national advocacy.

Facebook members vote now and vote often by following this easy link: ALS Association of Michigan Chapter Let’s work together to make a huge impact for the Michigan Chapter of ALS Association!!

By Wendy Kemp

Quicken Loans and Fathead were proud sponsors of the 20th Annual Detroit Lions Golf Invitational. Fathead CEO, Patrick McInnis, played 18 holes of golf with Detroit Lion Calvin Johnson and other members from the Fathead team at TPC Michigan in Dearborn.

Money raised at the golf outing will help the Detroit Lions Charities Foundation, which has provided assistance to more than 80 non-profit organizations this year alone.

Supporting the Detroit Lions is just one of the ways we Make a Difference in the Community.

This week, Quicken Loans team members celebrated “Pink Week” by decorating pink ribbons and gearing up for the Susan G. Komen Detroit Race for the Cure. During the race, 10,000 pink ribbons decorate every fence, parking meter, fire hydrant and lamppost along the 5K route.

Over 100 team members from Quicken Loans and its family of companies will be in to Detroit on Saturday, May 22nd showing their support for this great cause. This event raises funds and awareness to help fight breast cancer, which is the leading cancer among American women and second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths.

The team will be joining their friends and soon-to-be neighbors from Compuware for an early morning warm-up and pre-race excitement, including a “pinking” station, equipped with pink hair spray, beads and temporary tattoos. We are looking forward to joining the Compuware team and over 30,000 racers on Saturday to show our support!