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Determined to ‘give back’ to the local community, one of Australia’s largest brokerage groups has launched a new in-house charity program to address the needs of the nation’s homeless, as The Adviser discovers
Many brokers would agree that they have a sense of community responsibility and a wish to give back to the community that has supported them.
But while many might like to do so, they don’t necessarily have a structure or a means to do this as a group.
Taking a different tack, however, Loan Market decided to launch its own in-house charity program.
The program – commonly referred to by those at Loan Market as ‘HOPE’ – was established to give Loan Market’s brokers and head office staff an avenue through which to do good for their local community.
Loan Market’s executive chairman, Sam White, says the decision to launch the group’s own charity program came about on the back of broker demand.
“HOPE, which stands for ‘Help Open People’s Eyes’, was created after long discussions with our brokers,” he says.
“Our brokers were constantly telling us that they wanted to give back to their local communities – to thank them for their ongoing support.
“However, so many didn’t know what to do or where to start, so we created HOPE.
“It just makes it that bit easier for them to give back to their local community.”
Mr White explains that HOPE encompasses several charitable events and groups.
Brokers are not just asked to give money to a particular organisation. Rather, Loan Market has taken a unique approach to charity and asked them to provide business clothes.
These clothes will be given to people who do not have the right attire to go for job interviews.
“So many of us have old suits lying around that we no longer wear,” he says. “Our HOPE program allows us to send those clothes to a greater cause and give those who are without, a leg up.
“We are not just asking our brokers for money; we are asking them for whatever they feel comfortable giving. If they can’t give money, they can give clothes or their time – whatever they can afford.
“Every day, our brokers are in the very fortunate position of being able to help borrowers into their dream home.
“But while we are helping some achieve their goal of home ownership, others are not so lucky. There are more than 100,000 homeless people in Australia.
“I used to believe homelessness was self-inflicted; however, this is certainly not the case.”
According to Homelessness Australia, homelessness is a multi-faceted problem and affects different groups of people in diverse ways.
The causes and consequences of homelessness vary between groups, which include entire families, young people, women escaping from domestic violence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, those with alcohol and other drug problems, people with mental health problems and others.
According to the 2011 Census, there were 105,237 people who were homeless on census night in Australia – a rate of 49 persons in every 10,000, or just under 0.5 per cent of the population.
Of those who were homeless, 56 per cent were male, while 44 per cent were female.
Thirty-nine per cent were living in “severely overcrowded dwellings”, while six per cent were considered to be “sleeping rough” in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out.
“Homelessness can happen to anyone,” Mr White says,“and at Loan Market, we thought it was fitting for a brokerage that helps borrowers into their dream homes to support a cause like homelessness.”
CEO SLEEPOUT
While Loan Market brokers and head office staff will support the cause of homelessness through several charitable initiatives, such as raising money or providing homeless people with business-appropriate attire to attend job interviews, the brokerage’s executives are also planning to get actively involved in the new program.
Loan Market’s national sales director, Mark De Martino, will this year, together with Sam White, participate in the national CEO Sleepout initiative.
Organised by St Vincent De Paul, the national Sleepout will take place on June 20 this year and represents a unique way for business leaders to raise both awareness and important funds in support of essential homeless services across the country.
Mr White says he will be taking part in the annual Sleepout challenge in Sydney while Mr De Martino will be sleeping out in Melbourne – where temperatures are expected to fall below five degrees at night.
“I want to do it tough,” he says. “I really want to get a good idea of exactly what it is homeless people in Australia have to do every night.
“I saw Sam do it last year and it really inspired me to take on the challenge and try to help, in any way possible, the thousands of homeless people in Australia.
“While I do not believe for one second that sleeping outside for one night means I have now walked in the shoes of homeless Australians, I believe it is important to raise awareness about this issue and the CEO Sleepout allows us to do just that.”
Mr De Martino said he was committed to raising awareness about this important issue in any way possible and has been really touched by the efforts of Loan Market’s staff and brokers to date.
“We never would have launched HOPE if it wasn’t for our broker partners,” he says.
“They are truly behind this program. Our brokers have told us time and time again that they want to make a contribution to the local community and HOPE allows them to do just that.
“I am very proud to be associated with an organisation that is so committed to the betterment of the Australian community.”
